My solo exhibition, In Search of the Unknown Hero, is currently on display at the 'Museum of Ideas' gallery in Lviv from September 12 to October 12, 2024. After the exhibition concludes, images of the paintings will be added to this blog.
In Search of the Unknown Hero*
War brings suffering, death, grief, and sorrow. War oppresses and exhausts. War destroys and kills. No matter how much joy there is in victories, the pain of loss lingers forever. And in war, ordinary people become heroes, whether they want to or not—probably, for the most part, no.
Who are these heroes? Which of them will we meet and say: "Thank you for your life and thank you for your death"? How many of them are there now—unknown heroes? How many will there be by the end of this war? How many have there been in all the wars that our people, other nations, and all of humanity have endured? Who were they before the war, who have they become now, and who will they be after? What did they look like then? What do they look like now? Those who are fighting now; those who have already died; those who will still die; and those who will live.
Heroes die too. For a time, they remain in the memories of their comrades, their families, and their friends, but then they too fade away... A few hundred documentary and artistic artifacts will remain, dedicated to the already known heroes and events, and to those whom these artifacts and monuments will make known. A few myths will persist, sometimes disappearing only to be revived again; and their contribution to the collective unconscious will endure...
In searching for unknown heroes somewhere within my feelings—perhaps in my memory, but more likely in my personal unconscious—I do not fear the images in which they appear. On the contrary, I look deeply into them and recreate them on paper or canvas, and in doing so, I find hope. Hope for memory. Hope for the ability not to lose faith in the value of life. Hope for gratitude to every hero.
Wodeman
August 2024 CE
*Here and throughout, the word "hero" is used to refer to any person, regardless of their gender or identity, who defends human freedom and dignity with weapons or through hard work, risking their life in this world for the victory of good over evil, and often losing their life in this struggle.
**The loss of life refers to the death of the physical body or the infliction of such physical or psychological injuries that the person's continued existence in this world, until the death of their physical body, becomes a daily torment and suffering.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION AND THE ARTIST
About the Exhibition
The Museum of Ideas presents the exhibition In Search of the Unknown Hero by Kyiv-based artist Wodeman.
The exhibition consists of seven portraits, 26 x 18 cm, created with pencils on paper (first hall), and seven canvases, 160 x 110 cm, painted in oils (second hall). All the works were created in 2024 and share the same title—Unknown Hero.
“These portraits,” the artist notes, “are a search for the image of the unknown hero, not by attempting to imagine them, but through direct recreation from unconscious inner sources, although there is a sense that the collective unconscious is also reflected in them.”
The traditional definition tells us that a portrait is a painted, sculpted, or photographic depiction of a person or group of people, as well as a corresponding genre of visual art.
So, can a visual object be called a portrait if it is created not as a result of observing and interpreting the appearance of a real person, but through the attempt to find and feel the images of imaginary people within one's own unconscious, to grasp them and bring them from imaginary to real, from unconscious to conscious? And what if this is an effort to imagine the images of unknown people who give their lives for yours, even though they themselves would rather live on?
If so, who are we seeing in front of us? If not, what are we seeing when we look at these drawings and paintings? And most importantly—what do we feel when we gaze at these images and allow them to gaze back at us?
We invite you to seek your own answers to these questions or to formulate your own questions and share them with the Museum of Ideas by leaving your reflections in the comments below or here. Be sure to leave your contact information as well, as we have prepared special gifts for everyone who is willing to share their ideas with us.
About the Artist:
Wodeman was born in 1975 in Shostka, a small town in the Sivershchyna region of Ukraine. Since 1992, he has resided permanently in Kyiv. He began his artistic journey in the 1990s but, until now, has not displayed his work to a wider public.
When asked why, he says:
“I have always agreed with Borges, who, citing Blake, says: ‘To be saved, a person must be an artist.’ And though I know that to be an artist in an existential meaning, one doesn’t necessarily have to practice art in the traditional sense—creating artifacts and getting paid for it, or ‘writing for the drawer’ while hoping that someone will one day see and appreciate it, or simply using it as an escape from the outer world into one’s inner world, into a state without any sense of time, space, or even self—still, speaking to the world as an artist requires the use of an artistic language—something that others can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. Perhaps this is another reason why, after three decades of silence, preparation, creative searching, studies, and experiments with various mediums, I am beginning to speak. Or maybe it’s something else.”
Museum of Ideas
Lviv, September 2024
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