The exhibition of Vitaly Matukhno – Ukrainian activist and artist from Lysychansk – will begin on February 2 at Lviv Municipal Art Center.
At the beginning of the 90s, the processes of deindustrialization began in the east of Ukraine. City-building enterprises started to get closed or destroyed. With the beginning of the war in 2014, the situation in the cities that were on the verge of collapse worsened even more. The city where Vitaly Matukhno was born and lived all his life — Lysychansk — was left without its main enterprises, where the majority of the city’s population worked. One can say that after 2014 the city began to decay slowly. The city’s history, which has always been closely linked to the industry, remained inside the ruins of plants and factories.
Currently, Lysychansk is temporarily occupied by the Russian army for the second time. The city, which was slowly dying, is now 60% destroyed. Local memory remains inside the buildings, destroyed by war and deindustrialization.
“After de-occupation, we will start almost from scratch. My city will never be the same as I remembered it, as it is impossible to say what will remain of Luhansk region in general.”
The exhibition is dedicated to the disappearing local identity and memory of Luhansk region until February 24, 2022.
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Vitaly Matukhno. Born and raised in Lysychansk, Luhansk region. Due to the full-scale war, he was evacuated to Lviv, where he currently continues his artistic practice.
“My work as an activist and artist is dedicated to the place where I was born. In Luhansk region, I was involved in the local culture and art development through various festivals, exhibitions and parties. The main instrument in this process was my project “Gareleya Neotodresh” – an experimental exhibition space for young artists from Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
As an artist, I work in techniques of digital and analog photography, electronic music and mixed-media. The main topic of my artistic research is the history of Luhansk region, deindustrialization of Donbas, collective, personal and industrial memory as well as methods of its preservation through art.
Contact for press accreditation: lvivart.center/presa
Contact number: 063 110 4899
The exhibition is open to visitors every day from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Lviv, Stefanyka, 11
Gate code – 27