Kateryna Lysovenko

Invitation to Discuss Who Owns the Past

2023,
Painting, developed in cooperation with Polina Baitsym (researcher, curator)

Invitation to Discuss Who Owns the Past The idea for this project came about in collaboration with curator Polina Baitsym, drawing considerable inspiration from her work on the Trypillia-Cucuteni culture (dated 3rd-5th millennium BC, on the territory of contemporary Ukraine and Romania). Ukrainian national myth implies that Trypillians were the ancestors of modern-day Ukrainians, while Normanist theories connect Trypillia with the "Aryan race" and were influential for Nazi claims to areas of Ukraine. Ancient artifacts from that ancient culture are the source materials for Invitation to Discuss Who Owns the Past. However, while studying Ukrainian ancestry is a primary focus, the scope extends to include artworks taken or destroyed by Russian forces in Moldova, Chechnya, Georgia, and Syria after 1991. As Ukraine and other countries have suffered from Russian aggression (and that of other empires), it becomes more and more evident that part of such imperialist endeavors entails patching the gaping holes in the history of their own cultures, sometimes hastily and awkwardly. Invitation to Discuss Who Owns the Past draws attention to the colossal new wave of systemic removal of artworks from occupied territories. In addition, watercolors by Kateryna Lysovenko are shown, which were created under the impression of the first months of the war in 2022. On display are rape scenes and victims of Russian soldiers, summarized under the title "They can repeat", which refers to the Russian propaganda slogan "We can repeat". Dagger, Abkhazia, 1st century BC, year of acquisition 1954. (Hermitage); butyl 2nd century BC, Syria, year of acquisition 1912-22 (Hermitage); coin, Syria, 175-164 BC, Antioch 4, year of acquisition 2011 (Hermitage); Pendant, place of creation Caucasus, Chechnya, place of discovery Caucasus, Ichkeria, 8-9 centuries, year of acquisition 1931 (Hermitage); Helmet and iron mask, 12th-early 13th century, barrow near the village of Lypovets, Kyiv region, now Obukhivskyi district, excavations of O.N. Makarevich, 1892, (Hermitage); Part of a diptych with scenes from the history of St. Anna, mother of the Virgin, Syria, 4th century (Hermitage); the Leox stele of the 5th century BC, stolen by Russian troops from the Kherson Museum in October 2022; tip with a hole 1st century BC, Caucasus, Ossetia, Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea department (Hermitage); coin, Syria, 175-164 BC, Antioch 4, year of acquisition 2011 (Hermitage); Cowrie shell with a hole for hanging, 8th-9th century, Caucasus, Ossetia, department of Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea; Figure of a man sitting in a chair and holding a rhyton raised to his lips, location Abkhazia, Bamborskaya glade 4-5 centuries BC, year of acquisition 1936, archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia (Hermitage); Figure of a horseman standing on a platform with hanging bells, 5th century. BC, location Abkhazia, Bamborskaya Polyana 4-5 centuries BC, year of acquisition 1936, archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia (Hermitage); Horshchik, 3 st. BC, Brest-Tryshyn, Brest region, Brest-Tryshyn cemetery, year of acquisition 1963, Department of Archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia, (Hermitage); An ax with blades on both sides of the sleeve, Ossetia, Central Asia division, Caucasus and Crimea; Pendant, figurine of a bird with a triangular tail, place of discovery, Russian Federation, North Caucasus, Republic of North Ossetia, Alania, Suargom, near Chmi, place of discovery North Ossetia, Alania, Suargom, near Chmi, catacombs, first half of the 1st millennium. to n. is., year of receipt 1889, department of archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia; Kuvshinchyk, Georgia, Abkhazia, 1st millennium BC, year of acquisition 1954, Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea (Hermitage); Pendant, floor from the inside, in the form of a leopard's head with an open mouth, Ichkeria, Caucasus, year of acquisition 1897, department Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea (Hermitage); Pendant in the form of a stylized bird, Caucasus, Ossetia, Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea branch, (Hermitage); Blyakha, 1st millennium BC, Caucasus, Chechnya, Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea department; Trilobed arrowhead with a triangular head, Tiraspol, (Tiraspol Archaeological Museum); A glass with a bell in the upper part on a roller foot, Syria, 14th century, date of receipt 1906, department Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea; Pot, (Tiraspol Archaeological Museum); Cross with globular ends, flattened at the intersection, Grodno province, Drohichyn settlement, 11th-15th century, year of acquisition 1936, archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia (Hermitage), discussing who owns the past.

Stolen Horizont

2022,
watercolour

They Can Repeat

2022,
Watercolor

Message about Scope of Authoritys

2022,
Watercolor

Human Red Cross

2022,
Watercolor

The Mouth out of the Place

2023,
Watercolor paintings

Cockerel

2023,
Watercolor paintings

Refugee Try to Find Human in Self

2023,
Watercolor paintings

The Bodies of the Houses

2023,
Watercolor paintings