PEREMOHA/victory/ukr

After the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, Maria Kulikovska lived and worked in exile in Kyiv, Donetsk, Malmo, Liverpool, London, Munich, and Stockholm (she never returned to her hometown). During the last 2 years, Maria and her partner and co-author, Оleр Vinnichenko, lived in Kyiv. After February 24, 2022, Maria and her newborn baby were forced to flee to Linz, Austria. The exhibition includes her work Dinner Set, non-breakable polymer, microwave and dishwasher safe, six plates, 2022. The work is a table with six red doilies and six plates, with images of women's bodies, breasts, vagina and the belly of a pregnant woman. Bodies painted with textures and gouache that resemble blood, this is a dinner set to reflect the realities of those who are watching news of blood and violence while having dinner. Also in the exhibition is the work Performative Sculpture, Photography on wallpaper, 2014. Performative Sculpture is a definition of the objects created by the artist from ephemeral, often non-traditional sculpture materials, such as soap bars. Kulikovska's sculpture obiects are the exact clone copies of her entire body, or certain parts. Оleh Vinnichenko makes all the casts. The Fortified soap sculptures were exhibited at Izolyatsia Art Center in Donetsk, and were captured and looted by the dpr (donetsk people's republic) militants. On June 9, a group of pro-Russian terrorists shot at Kulikovska's soap sculptures, using them as targets.

– Yohanna M Roa