For Ukraine’s Independence Day, the War Museum presented the exhibition “MONUMENT.”
It is an artistic view of the modern history of Ukraine’s most famous sculpture – the “Motherland Monument” – and its symbolic transformation during the war. The exhibition combines documentary accuracy and artistic vision. Photographer Denys Semenets captured the monument during a time of historic change, while graphic designer Vadym Blonskyi gave its image new meanings that resonated with millions on social media.
Opening the event, the Director General of the War Museum and the author of the idea for the exhibition project, Yurii Savchuk, emphasized that the first exhibition dedicated to the “Motherland Monument” was launched exactly three years ago. Since then, a long path of redefining the Museum has been completed, and the exhibition “MONUMENT” has become a landmark of this process.
First Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Halyna Hryhorenko, in her speech stressed that the project “The Trident of the Motherland” and the redefinition of the War Museum became examples of conscious reinterpretation of the past, while the project “MONUMENT” represents a vision of the future.
The development of the Museum’s collaboration with artists Denys and Vadym was presented by curator Liudmyla Melnyk. The cooperation began in the digital space, but later, through dialogue between the artists and the museum team, the idea was born to move beyond the virtual.
This is the first exhibition of creative works by Denys Semenets and Vadym Blonskyi. Denys admitted that the “Motherland Monument” had been the central subject of his photographs for many years, and it is a great honor for him that they can now be seen in the exhibition space right beneath the sculpture itself. Vadym shared that all his graphic works are, in a way, a dedication to the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
The exhibition project was made possible thanks to the support of the Ukrainian bag and accessories brand “LONA PRIST”. The brand’s founder, Aliona Prist, emphasized that the works presented at the “MONUMENT” exhibition are Ukraine’s cultural heritage. She noted that the project’s idea resonates with the values of her brand.
We invite Kyiv residents and city guests to visit the exhibition and see the tallest sculpture in Ukraine and Europe in unexpected and bold forms!
