Date & Location
September 7–25, 2016
Kyiv, Ukraine
September 7–25, 2016
Kyiv, Ukraine
Exhibition at Visual Culture Research Center.
In September 2016, «The Raft CrimeA: Trumps of Doom» exhibition was held at the Visual Culture Research Center in Kyiv, and its curators were Lesia Kulchynska and the School of Political Performance. After first Maria Kulikovska's raft «migrating» from Kyiv to Vylkovo and an attempt to cross the invisible water borders of the EU, which was stopped by the State Border Guard Service, «The Raft CrimeA» came back to Kyiv.
«A big room. Long rows of desks. Walls with print-articles of criminal code. Fines, detentions, punishments. A military with a weapon in his hand. There's books on the desks. Next to me, what is strange and even symbolic - «Maps of Fate». I'll never forget this interrogation room».
On August 19, Maria Kulikovska and people that wish to join her performance started to go in the Dnipro River on the «The Raft CrimeA» that August 25 - on the Independence Day of Ukraine - to cross the invisible water borders of the EU, to get metaphorically across them, and to continue their journey on the rivers of Europe. But, at down on August 25, in Vylkove, Ukraine, the «The Raft CrimeA» was stopped by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The performance ended prematurely, and the artist together with her companions ended up in the interrogation room. «The Raft CrimeA», which was first thought to be a spy or, even, an act of terror, was released back home. Unfortunately, the raft couldn't cross the invisible Ukrainian-Rumunian borders and make the artistic gesture of metaphorical escape/rescue.
Maria Kulikovska brought to Kyiv a rough experience with border service, a physical weariness, a lot of warm emotion from people, who met at the time of her not easy Odyssey. She was also brought many items-memories, items-reflections, the items, which were gifted by different people as a sign of solidarity and support for the Displaced Parliament of the Displaced - «The Raft CrimeA». All of these artefacts became full-fledged objects at «The Raft CrimeA: Trumps of Doom» exhibition, dedicated to the first expedition of the Parliament of Displaced.
The floor of the gallery was filled by gold folia and sand - a symbolic-physical symbol of the trip. The freeze-dried flowers, which were taken and gifted during the migration, seashells, mats, books, watercolors on the explanatory memorandums and video documentation of Kulikovska's performance were also presented at the gallery space. The bright spots on this map became the reflecting jacket, yellow raincoat and the main character of Kulikovska's displacing - exhausted raft. Maria Kulikovska painted a map of the world on one of the walls. This map-sky had its own, social-political, coordinate system: without borders between counties, without hierarchy of the continents' area, with a red war zone - with painful Crimea, and with the gold dots-stars - hundred/thousands/millions displaced rafts all over the world.
«The Raft CrimeA: Trumps of Doom» was a story about travel to the unknown, a story about secrets and discoveries, a story about fate and human kindness. It was a story dedicated to the great courage of all migrants and settlers, who are moving forward to embark upon a new life. This story was dedicated to everyone having an open heart and is ready to care about others.
