On 15th December 2021 at 7 p.m., the exhibition Year Zero. The Idea of Light at M17 Contemporary Art Center is opening. This is the third and final part of Victor Sydorenko’s interdisciplinary project All Colors of the Spectrum is White Light, which covers the artist’s works in various genres — painting, photography, video art, installations and sculptures — for more than 25 years.

Victor Sydorenko is one of the most emblematic Ukrainian artists of the postwar generation. His project Millstone of Time presented Ukraine at the 50th Venice Biennale. The artist is not apprehensive of experimenting with either theme or with material: he draws easel paintings, creates large-scale sculptures, works with video. Intentional damages, scratches; documentary photos; white stains under remains of colourful layers — due to these components, his works acquire timeless effect. Forming a transhuman society and new social subcultures, the meaning and value of the term “human” in the age of new digital meta-worlds are the main themes of Victor Sydorenko’s art practice.

Exhibition Year Zero. The Idea of Light consists exclusively of new works and sculptures by Ukrainian artist Victor Sydorenko. Based on optical experiments their main theme is sensational borderline between real and visible, between actual and desired. The artist takes his Character through terrains of psychological ventures, irrational processes, and metamorphoses, continuing his exhausting preparation for what never seems to happen — the inevitable encounter with his self. The exhibition Year Zero. The Idea of Light is about the obliterated humanity, the aptitude for communication, and about the ability to gaze at the world and others with sincere eyes.

Victor Sydorenko said, “One way or another, an artist is always in the process of painting one work. In my art practice, this work is related to my Character, which roams from one project to another with diverse meanings. The difference between his first appearance in 1996 and the contemporary variant is huge. Back then, my Character was dependent on historical circumstances, and now he remains on his own.”

Curator — Andrew Siguntsov
Co-curator — Eugenia Havrylenko
Head of the project — Natalia Shpytkovska

The exhibition will run from 15.12.2021 to 12.02.2022

The visitors are entitled to free admission to the exhibition opening (15.12.2021 at 7 p.m.) when registered. To register, visit this link.

All visitors must carry one of the following documents: COVID-19 vaccination status certificate (with two doses of vaccine documented), a negative PCR test, or an antigen test performed no later than 72 hours, a certificate of recovery after COVID-19 (obtained during the last 6 months).