Poland brings tragedy of Ukraine war to Venice Biennale

Poland brings the tragedy of the war in Ukraine to the Venice Biennale. Indeed, the project that the Polish Pavilion is presenting to the public is all about the conflict that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine in February 2022 and consists of an audiovisual installation, Repeat After Me II, which is a collective portrait of the witnesses of the ongoing war. This installation is created by the Ukrainian art collective Open Group and curated by Marta Czyż . In the installation, the protagonists are civilian refugees who narrate their experience of war through the sounds of weaponry they have come to recognize. These sounds are then played and the audience is invited to repeat them, thus creating a kind of military karaoke of the future that unites participants with those who have experienced war.

The work consists of two videos, produced in 2022 and 2024, showing refugees as they tell their stories and the sounds of war that accompanied them. The artists use the karaoke formula, but instead of relying on famous songs, they offer the sounds of bullets, gunfire, air raid sirens, and explosions. The lyrics of the sounds represent descriptions of the effect of a lethal weapon, thus offering the audience a soundtrack to the war that is taking place.

The work brings together the expertise of Marta Czyż, an art historian, independent curator and art critic based in Warsaw, and the artistic experience of Open Gropu. In her work, Czyż draws on archives and the most recent events in art history that influence culture and social movements. She is also interested in the history of exhibition systems in Poland and issues related to the curatorial profession. She was a fellow of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in 2018 and serves on the board of the Polish section of AICA (International Association of Art Critics). The Open Group collective was founded in August 2012 in Lviv by a group of six Ukrainian artists. Over time, the composition of the group has changed and currently the permanent members are Yuriy Biley, Pavlo Kovach and Anton Varga, who occasionally invite other artists to join the group for specific projects. The collective’s work focuses on observing the interactions between people and the spatial context, creating open situations. Since 2011, group members have also run independent art spaces such as Detenpyla or Efremova26 gallery in Lviv. Open Group received special recognition at the PinchukArtCentre Prize in 2013 and the main prize in 2015. Their works were exhibited in the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2015. They participated in the Future Generation Art Prize@Venice 2017 Collateral Event at the 2017 Art Biennale and curated the exhibition hosted by the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 2019 Art Biennale.

The juxtaposition of works from 2022 and 2024 in the installation Repeat After Me II aims to highlight the dramatic continuity of memory and changes in the war industry. The first video was shot in a refugee camp near Lviv, while the second was filmed outside Ukraine, in various Western European countries that provide safe haven for the protagonists. However, even away from the constant sound of anti-aircraft sirens, the sounds of war remain part of their trauma and spread symbolically throughout their environment. Viewers are invited to repeat the sounds of armament, thus opening a window into the language of the witnesses’ experience. Or they can retreat to a safe space, furnished like a karaoke bar, but with a view toward a militarized future that looms menacingly.

Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security distributed brochures titled “In the Event of Invasion or War,” providing instructions on how to behave during a war. These instructions vary depending on the type of attack, but sound recognition can be vital to survival. Repeat After Me II shows that war is a shared experience, across differences in age, background and social status, giving voice to those who experienced the tragedy firsthand.

The management of the Poland Pavilion and the organization of the exhibition at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale is entrusted to the Zachęta National Art Gallery. Poland has participated in the Biennale’s International Art Exhibition with its own pavilion since 1932.

The Zachęta National Art Gallery represents an essential point of reference for the dissemination of contemporary art in all its forms of expression, playing a central role in the cultural and social life of Poland. Founded with the mission of promoting the most relevant artistic trends of the 20th and 21st centuries, the Zachęta hosts exhibitions ranging from Polish to international art. Through its centuries-old exhibition halls, the Zachęta has presented the works of many prominent artists, including Paweł Althamer, Marlene Dumas, Luc Tuymans, Jan Lebenstein, Zbigniew Libera, Daniel Libeskind, Tadeusz Kantor, Katarzyna Kozyra, Yayoi Kusama, Niki de Saint Phalle, Wilhelm Sasnal, Alina Szapocznikow, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Jerzy Nowosielski.

The Zachęta not only organizes high-profile exhibitions, but also engages in educational activities aimed at different age groups, from childhood to adulthood. It also publishes books on contemporary art and collects information on artistic life in Poland after 1945. Part of the works displayed during exhibitions may become part of the gallery’s permanent collection, thus enriching its artistic and cultural heritage.

Poland brings tragedy of Ukraine war to Venice Biennale

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