Untitled gallery is pleased to introduce you and new exhibition as the result of two weeks art residency for Ukrainian queer artists.
The project is supported by Ria Keburia foundation where the residency took place and the exhibition will be open. The project is supported also by urgent action fund for women's human rights. Thanks a lot to project Fungus for standing with us in this action.
The terror we all are experiencing in the region is doubling the fears on many dimensions. In this situation, Queer people are facing one of the biggest challenges and traumas: they are not only subject to forced relocation and loss of the familiar places, but they are also confronting themselves with discovering what it means to be queer in the specific context of a military invasion, and with hopes and fears towards the future, about how to rebuild one's own life from scratch and about what could happen to the recognition and protection of their human rights in connection to what the outcome of the war will be.
To the puppy with blue eyes is an exhibition of Ukrainian Queer artists about the war, trauma, childhood memories and cultural identity.
"Puppy is a metaphor. It is about hope and continuing life during the war. A puppy is an innocent creature, a child, and is a sign that some beautiful things like birth remain. It is about the contrast between cruelty and glory and purity. The puppy's blue eyes are a reflection of the clear blue sky. And it is our message that we believe we will see blue sky in Ukraine."
Naturally , artists possess very sensual emotions, and in a wake of the war many of them closely experienced each scratch and scars. Artists start to co exist within a tragedy , where artistic expression becomes a main therapy for salvation.
We have collected a group of artists who had opportunity to work together during the residency stay and blast their empathy and emotion through their creations. The artworks have been collected through the online platform Ria Bid, giving a chance to the viewer to donate half of the funds to the Ukrainian and Georgian refuges .
These young individuals collected their forces to possess their reflections on the themes of war , death and despair . While working on different disciplines , they still maintain a common line - a real appreciation of the reality and the ability to bring their true experience to the viewer.