Social Contract

IZOLYATSIA announced the winner of the Social Contract 2017 international competition for projects of a temporary art intervention at the former site of the Lenin monument in Kyiv. According to the results of the popular vote, it is the project Ritual of Self-Nature by Mexican artist Isa Carrillo that will be on display on May 3-17, 2017.

The idea of the Ritual of Self-Nature is using the healing powers of nature: the empty pedestal will be covered by rosemary plants. Isa Carrillo proposes to neutralise the ideological tension around the vacant pedestal and invites the citizens to join a shared quest for internal balance and calm. At the end of the project, the rosemary plants will be given away to passers-by who wish to adopt them.

“I find it symbolic that the popular vote chose a project stressing out the idea of purification of a very complex place, where in times of WWII stood a gallows and later the Lenin monument – with the help of nature. This choice also indicates a lack of green spaces in Kyiv. Temporary as it is, the installation will create a green zone instead of a bare granite pedestal,” says Kateryna Filyuk, the curator of the Social Contract project.

The popular vote for four finalists, shortlisted by an international jury, took place between April 3 and 9, 2017. Ritual of Self-Nature by Isa Carrillo got 38.5% of the votes, Ukrainian artist Mykyta Shalennyi’s Heroes Do Not Exist ranked second (31.1%), I Need a Hero by Milena Vučković (Serbia) – third (16%), and De Pedestal by art duo Afterall from Italy got 14.3% of the votes.

The international open call for projects of a temporary art intervention at the former site of the Lenin monument in Kyiv Social Contract 2017 took place between February 23 and March 25, 2017. 37 applications were received from 18 countries.

The temporary installation Ritual of Self-Nature by Isa Carrillo will be carried out by IZOLYATSIA at the former site of the Lenin monument in Kyiv on May 3-17, 2017.

Isa Carrillo was born in 1982 in Mexico. Her practice is influenced by mysticism and based on a research in graphology, astrology, and numerology. In 2015-16, she won a grant Incentives Programme of Creation and Artistic Development (PECDA), Jalisco, Mexico.

Started in 2016, Social Contract is a project by IZOLYATSIA aimed at creating a discussion platform for art community, society and authorities on the status and functions of commemorative objects in urban space, using the case of the Lenin statue in Kyiv as an example.

IZOLYATSIA announces the popular vote for the project of an art intervention at the former site of the Lenin monument in Kyiv. Four projects have been shortlisted by the international jury and are now subjected to a general vote. The popular vote is over. The results will be announced shortly.

Finalists:

Afterall De Pedestal (Italy)

The project foresees an installation consisting of an unrefined wooden grid/cage which perfectly inscribes the pedestal of the former Lenin monument, on a scale 2:1. The installation will be placed horizontally and should be placed in the avenue next to the original pedestal. The marble pedestal gives then way to the lightness and precariousness of the raw wood, the verticality is torn down to become an horizontal wreck which lies on the ground. The full becomes empty, the male assertion becomes female reception. The pedestal is a symbol of reliability, strength and belief, adjectives on which our project wants to discuss, modulating its meanings, accepting the shades of meaning in view of a shared identity.

Milena Vučković I Need a Hero (Serbia)

Site-specific installation consists of one powerful Searchlight placed on emptied postament. It is active whole day, but fully noticeable and appreciated during dark of night, between sunset and sunrise. Searchlight shines and rotates its head around, lighting streets around, trees behind, facades and everything it can reach in search for Future Hero. It emphasises lack of plain and clear solutions, and need to see things in different light.

Isa Carillo Ritual of Self-Nature (Mexico)

The project consists of two parts. On the one hand, the idea is to cover with rosemary the empty Lenin’s pedestal during the days that the installation lasts. On the other hand, the artist intends to execute a meditation practice in which the attention will be focused on the breathing, a practice known in Sanskrit as shamata.

The plant of rosemary will function metaphorically as an antidepressant, a healer of blows and wounds, stimulant for circulation, concentration and memory, in other words it will do a therapeutic labour. The other part of the project will consists of open meditation sessions that will be carried out several times a week for 45 minutes. At the end of the project, the plants will be given away to passers-by who wish to adopt them.

Mykyta Shalennyi Heroes Do Not Exist (Ukraine)

From both sides of the pedestal, two rows of shelves will be placed for storing books, like in a library. Before these rows, two troughs with coal, lime or chalk will be put. Every citizen can put a board of plasterboard on the shelves for storing books and write something on it with coal or chalk.

Using the chalk, the visitors can record something they would like to get rid of or they would like to forget. Using the coal, people can write something that they do not want to lose.

The winning project will be carried out in Kyiv on May 3-17, 2017.

Application deadline: March 25, 2017

IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives, Ukraine’s leading art institution, is inviting artists to participate in the competition for the project of a temporary public intervention on the former site of the Lenin monument in Kyiv, as part of its Social Contract project. The call is open to all artists, regardless of their age, gender, nationality, or practice.

The curatorial focus for the Social Contract is the concept of commemorative objects/rituals in public space that encapsulate certain historical narratives and political ideologies. The project is aimed at creating a discussion platform for art community, society, and authorities on the status and functions of commemorative objects in public space, using the case of the Lenin statue in Kyiv as an example.

The destruction of the statue of Lenin in Kyiv in December 2013 triggered the symbolic Leninfall around the country, calling into action a controversial set of laws on Decommunisation to a broad polemic in Ukrainian society. At the moment the vacant site holds an enormous ideological potential and is crucial in defining national identity, creating attitude to the recent painful past and formulating future agenda. Thus, an artistic intervention could create an arena for a broad discussion within the society.

Artists should understand the ethical issues involved, be relevant to local conditions and engage a broad audience. Consequently, suggested intervention should be compatible with the empty Lenin monument pedestal both spatially and conceptually and could be of any media and format. However, big-scale modifications of the site are not advised, due to the intervention’s temporary nature. For that matter, performative, participatory and interactive works will be given preference.

Previous editions

The first artistic intervention at the site of the Lenin monument within the Social Contract project was Cynthia Gutiérrez’s installation Inhabiting Shadows (July 9-16, 2016), attended by over 1500 people.

In November 2016, the Iranian artist Mahmoud Bakhshi has been invited for the second round of the project, contributing with the Endless Celebration installation (November 7-21, 2016).

Additional information

Learn more about the location here.

Selection process

Among the received entries, four artists will be shortlisted by the jury to participate in the second phase (Popular Vote). The winning project will be presented at the former site of the Lenin monument in Kyiv on May 1-17, 2017.

Framework

For the winning proposal an artist’s basic fee, travel costs, accommodation, per diem and production costs are to be covered by the hosting institution.

Application requirements

The applicants must provide following documents:

• A letter of motivation, elaborating on the artist’s interest in the topic (no longer than 300 words);
• A project description and a sketch with technical specification (no longer than 300 words);
• Artist’s CV.

Entries must be submitted in English in one PDF file to the email address [email protected] with the title: “Social Contract Application [Last Name of Applicant]” no later than March 25, 2017.

Project curator: Kateryna Filyuk

Supported by the Department for Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration.

About IZOLYATSIA

IZOLYATSIA is a cultural platform founded in Donetsk in 2010 and relocated to Kyiv in June 2014 after the military occupation of its premises. The institution’s mission is to inspire positive change in Ukraine by using culture as an instrument. IZOLYATSIA has three intertwined directions of activity: art, education and projects geared at activating Ukraine’s creative sector.

Learn more at izolyatsia.org

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