The Russia-Ukrainian War has been one of the exhaustively-documented conflicts in history, with technology enabling large proportions of Ukraine’s 39 million-strong population to record and share images and videos of life in conflict with the world.
Now, in an upcoming one-day-only exhibition in London, some 27,000 videos taken during war and uploaded onto a single Ukrainian Telegram channel (an encrypted messaging platform), will be projected across immersive art space Outernet’s 360-degree, floor-to-ceiling screens.
Described by Outernet as a “deliberately overwhelming experience”, at any given moment, the artwork – which will run for 11 hours non-stop – will consist of 320 videos simultaneously playing, creating a sense of the intensity of the conflict’s mass documentation.
The eye-boggling artwork, titled VLADA, has been created by Manchester-based moving image artists Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson. First shown in Kyiv in October 2023, it will receive its UK premiere on February 24.
“We’re proud to be showing this work at Outernet to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion,” said the artists. “If art has a role to play in such a conflict it is to help us to not forget. When the full-scale invasion began we knew this was an era-defining moment in world politics.
“VLADA came about because like the rest of the world we were glued to our phones watching the horror unfold. It’s also our way of not letting that horror be forgotten, nor allowing it to overwhelm or paralyse us.”
Taking a year to complete, VLADA will be projected alongside a jarring soundtrack, made to enhance the effect of the piece.
The exciting work has been created in collaboration with foundation ADOT, whose mission is to encourage the “acceptance of the similarities between us rather than the small differences, to undo the epidemic of disconnect and conflict that confronts the world”.
“This poignant exhibition provides a unique and impactful reflection on the war on Ukraine,” said the foundation. “ADOT has provided this space to engage in reflection that will bring us closer to each other, enabling us to see that our hopes, fears and love for each other are all shared as one.”
ADOT is encouraging visitors to donate to Choose Love, a charity which supports refugees around the world – including displaced Ukrainian communities. There will be QR codes on the information boards placed around Outernet’s The Now Building space providing more detail.
Just a year after opening, each week thousands pass through Outernet’s flagship Tottenham Court Road space, The Now Building, which boasts huge, wrap-around, cutting-edge, screens.
