View of the Temporarily Occupied Left Bank of the Kherson Region

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The invasion gave rise to the largest conflict in Europe since World War II and, as of 2024, Russian troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine. Early in the invasion, Russian forces began a military occupation of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast, a region in southern Ukraine just north of Crimea. The title of the video-work shown on the large screen in the atrium, View of the Temporarily Occupied Left Bank of the Kherson Region, refers to a painting by Fedir Alekseyev called “The View of Kherson”. The painting was looted from Kherson Local Lore Museum in October 2022. 

After Kherson was liberated by Ukranian troops in November 2022, Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei filmed this video from a window of the partly destroyed Honchar Library. The landscape depicts the Dnipro River and greenery in the direction of Oleshky – a town where most of the Russian troops that currently bomb Kherson are stationed. It shows the war’s proximity and presence. 

Kyiv-based artists and filmmakers Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk graduated as cinematographers from the Institute of Screen Arts in Kyiv, Ukraine. Their work engages with imperial mythologies: ideals and stories used to explain, justify, and to a certain extent, qualify, the practice of imperialism. “We started to think about it after the Maidan revolution.* Therefore, our research is mostly based on current socio-political transformations of Ukraine” says the duo. 

Their work has previously been shown at GIBCA Gothenburg Biennial, Kyiv Binennial, and in group shows at Haus der Kunst, Castello di Rivoli, Albertinum and others. Their work is also currently being exhibited at the Venice Biennale.