Ukrainian artist Volodymyr Kuznetsov’s large-scale mural Koliivschina: Judgment Day was supposed to be included as part of the exhibition “Great and Grand.” However, the artist says he “did not have time to finish it, because the exhibition curator Nataliia Zabolotna decided to cover it with her own hands.” The artist’s work was reportedly censored by being covered partially in black paint, destroying part of the work. Zabolotna stated that…
You cannot criticize the homeland, just as you cannot criticize your mother. I feel that anything said against the homeland is immoral.
The large mural itself features Pussy Riot imagery and a representation of 29-year-old Irina Krashkova standing beside a nuclear reactor. Speaking for her hospital bed in June, Krashkova of Vradiyevka, Ukraine said she was driven to the woods, raped and savagely beaten by two local policemen.
Alexander Solovyov, the deputy director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal museum, says that he has stepped down in light of the rising controversies, yet continues to support the work of the artist despite i’s censorship by others. (Image: The Art Newspaper)
