September 10 – October 18, 2020
"One should not be afraid of becoming irrelevant, untimely, one should be afraid of not being alive" ~ Viktor Sydorenko
M17 Contemporary Art Center invites you to reconsider the linearity of the historical perspective, to think about the “optical illusions” with which Viсtor Sydorenko changes our visions of the past and the present.
The exposition Untimely includes two projects of the artist. The first one is The Beach and the Shore cycle, that Victor worked on for 13 years, from 2004 to 2017. The second one – new works for the already known series called Un-Timely, launched in 2018; they also depict a beach vacation.
The beach is a multifaceted metaphor that can be interpreted in many ways. The beach itself is a specific cultural phenomenon and is perhaps the easiest to read as a metaphor for collectivity. But the collectivity of what era? The cracked paint on the artist’s canvases hints at ancient, “older” than the twentieth century. The childhood memory of the older spectator will prompt you to look for this beach in the recent past. But if we remove the cracked layer – wouldn’t these “beach rituals” reflect the present time? And will they become radically different century after us? Victor Sydorenko takes the audience through the labyrinths of time, asking questions about the cultural continuity; whether “untimely” that does not have clear markers of a specific time is really irrelevant.
The author's reflections on the exhibition are reinforced by the "archive" of the creation of the artwork "The Beach and the Shore": photographs and videos of Crimean beaches, a panorama composed of photographs, watercolor sketches, and, finally, the work itself. And here come the questions: What does a memory represent and how is it constructed? What is the culture of past eras for us today - "the beach" or "the shore" (are we in or watching from the side)? What is the relationship between the past and the present? And many more.
"The work "The Beach and the Shore" is expected to be about recreation, but in fact, the author touches on deeper issues and meanings. We unfold the process of creation, looking at the phenomenon of how one artistic idea becomes cyclical and takes on an infinite form. The project refers to a reflection on boundaries and prohibitions, the past and the future" ~ Natalia Shpytkovska, Director of M17 Contemporary Art Center
Project partners: Adamovskiy Foundation, ARTСult Foundation
