Practices of Recognition. Situational Games

What is art in a situation when the iron curtain falls, and an unlimited variety of ideas and possibilities, inaccessible before, opens up to one’s consciousness? Who is the real self in the endless and chaotic carnival of images and new media? Can separating oneself from this flow and breaking up with the former “centre” contribute to finding one’s true identity? Perhaps the best way to interact with the existing reality is a kind of game that eventually has no winner or loser. In this field, there is only a person who, experiencing reality, tries to make sense of it and thus figure out how to act: to try to break out of it or, on the contrary, consistently go with the flow. On the other hand, there is reality itself, which in response challenges the personality, creating various moments of (co)existence.

The basis of the second part of the “Recognition Practices” project is constituted by the Odesa exhibition triad of 1995-1996: “The Kandinsky Syndrome” (1995; Odesa Museum of History and Local Lore), “The Cabinet of Dr Frankenstein. Neochymerysm” (1995; House of Scientists) and “Phantom of the Opera” (1996; Puppet Theatre and the Small Stage of the Opera and Ballet Theatre). The main discussion course was set in the first exhibition, which, using the Kandinsky-Clerambault syndrome perspective, critically examined the social oversaturation with the visual images and intended to “diagnose society”. The two subsequent exhibitions pick up this subject and go on asking crucial questions about the fragility of the body and the vulnerability of the mind.

Reflecting on these exhibitions, it is quite easy to get caught up in the psychedelic motif. However, no less significant for them is the chimericalness, which was later defined by the comprehensive concept of “neochymerysm”. Although this term is only explicitly used in the second exhibition, it is actually the key to understanding the entire triad. Mykhailo Rashkovetsky, co-curator of all three exhibitions, speaks of neochymerysm as “the fruitfulness of the compatible and the incompatible”. This definition is proven both by the archival documentation of the expositions and by the living memories of the participants. Each of the exhibitions of this triad was a particular unique situation entered and interacted with by the curatorial group (Oleksandr Roitburd, Mykhailo Rashkovetsky, and Olena Mykhailovska), artists, and the artistic community close to them. Each project would become a challenge leading to constant changes in the current rules of the game and searching for new ones. For instance, in order to justify the grant requirements, a photocopier originally purchased for accounting needs became the leading element of the installation, the kitchen in the Odesa House of Scientists was transformed into an exhibition space, and the theatre ceiling was hung with banners with meaningful philosophical questions. The longer the game went on, the more acute the internal discussion between its participants got. In fact, the “Phantom of the Opera” becomes a certain line, and beyond it, the search for new approaches and meanings commences.

This time, artists linked to Odesa were invited to the space of the Mala Gallery and the “Practices of Recognition” project. Their conceptual goal was to reflect on these artistic situations with the sensibility inherent in their home city — the special type that Olena Mykhailovska mentioned in an interview with Uta Kilter. Together with Luka Basov, Vasya Dmytryk, Dasha Chechushkova, and Sana Shahmuradova Tanska, the curatorial group continues to look for connections between iconic Ukrainian exhibitions of the 90s and present days, talking about the continuity of time and history, the absurdity of reality, coexistence and co-creation, monstrosity, as well as major and minor questions that still trouble us.

Laboratory of Contemporary Art “Mala Gallery of the Mystetskyi Arsenal” expresses its gratitude to the Museum of Odesa Modern Art, Semen Kantor, Marina Marukhnych, Olena Mykhailovska, Mykhailo Rashkovetsky, Oleksandr Soloviov, Natalka Revko, and Valeria Nasedkina for supporting the project and providing their assistance with archival and research materials.

Exhibition participants: Luka Basov, Vasya Dmytryk, Dasha Chechushkova, and Sana Shahmuradova Tanska
Curators: Anastasia Garazd, Natasha Chychasova
Manager: Andrii Myroshnychenko
Mentoring: Oleksandr Soloviov

The exhibition poster features a fragment of the poster for the “The Cabinet of Dr Frankenstein. Neochymerysm” exhibition (1995) provided by the Museum of Odesa Modern Art.

❗The exhibition contains highly sensitive artworks.

The exhibition will open at 12:00 p.m. on August 15 and last until September 22, 2024, in the Mala Gallery (Lavrska St., 10).

Working hours:
Wednesday to Sunday, from 12:00 to 19:00
Free admission.