The Ukrainian Pavilion's Deer Seen Around the World

"On Tuesday, May 5, the day before previews began at this year's Venice Biennale, Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, targeting, as is usual, civilians and civilian infrastructure. Twenty-seven people perished, and well over 100 were injured. At the 61st iteration of the international art event, among many scandals and controversies, the Biennale's startling decision to welcome Russia back into the fold despite the now five years of its brutal, unprovoked war on Ukraine looms as especially shameful."

"With very few exceptions, this war - the worst in Europe since World War II - was largely invisible throughout the sprawling Biennale, including the main exhibition In Minor Keys, the national pavilions, and copious collateral events, although there were occasionally emphatic protests outside the Russian pavilion. This makes Zhanna Kadyrova's multifaceted project Security Guarantees, which is in the Ukrainian Pavilion at the Arsenale and outside the Giardini, especially significant, a project that confronts the war head-on."

"Fitted into an orange harness and suspended from a crane, Kadyrova's sculpture "The Origami Deer" (2019) is prominently displayed at the entrance to the Giardini, a short distance from the Russian Pavilion. Made of heavy gray concrete and shaped like a deer, it also looks delicate and light, suggesting a giant origami construction; it encapsulates both fragility and strength. According to accompanying texts, the suggestion of folded paper invokes the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, a document signed by the Russian Federation, United Kingdom, and United States,"

Russia’s May 5 drone and missile attack on Ukraine killed 27 people and injured more than 100. The Venice Biennale’s decision to welcome Russia back amid its ongoing war made the event feel especially shameful, while the conflict remained largely invisible across most exhibitions and events. Zhanna Kadyrova’s project “Security Guarantees,” located in the Ukrainian Pavilion and outside the Giardini, directly addresses the war. “The Origami Deer” (2019) is suspended from a crane in an orange harness at the Giardini entrance. The heavy gray concrete deer appears delicate like folded paper, linking fragility and strength. The folded-paper reference invokes the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by major powers.

Read at Hyperallergic