MOT – Module of Temporality

Menu

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

‘Module of Temporality’ exhibition is a combination of contemporary painting and sculpture, street art and video installations which were put together in less than two months by curatorial team of Fabrice Bousteau capturing the transience of the present moment.

SCHEDULE OF THE EXHIBITION

Open daily

July 13
16:00 — 21:00

from July 13 till August 13, 2023
Weekdays: 13:00 — 20:00
Weekends: 11:00 — 20:00

Sometimes on evenings we host special events. During this time the exposition is closed. Schedule and tickets are available at concert.ua

FROM THE CURATOR

«Art is what makes life more interesting than art», French artist and poet Robert Filliou wrote in the 1980s. This is a way of saying how strongly artists are rooted in reality and how much clearer they allow us to see society and the world as it is. In that sense, artists have almost mediumistic powers. Also, it has always struck me that in world history, in all countries, in all eras, artists have continued to create even in times of war, horror, barbarism. What is characteristic of human beings, compared to all living things, is that they create.

To create is to live. And faced with this war, this Russian invasion of Ukraine, this incredible barbarism, artists from all over the world responded to my offer to participate in this exhibition, which I would not call resistance, but existence! In addition, we built this exhibition in the shortest possible time and without all the usual operations: there were difficulties in transportation, inability to insure the works, etc. All of the artists were touched by the MOT project and the energy and unwavering determination of the entire team.

This exhibition was created in the format of a conversation between the 28 participating artists and visitors on the theme of “temporality”, the fragility of this time, which is suspended, uncertain and can lead to any situation, because nothing is frozen or final. And it is we who create this time, for example the work of the artist JR in Lviv, which became the cover of Time and depicts a little smiling girl, whose photo is “suspended” and then “comes to life” thanks to hundreds of Ukrainians. This participatory artwork, like all the works of JR, is a metaphor for the fact that we should all be stakeholders in the fight for freedom for Ukraine. Time is never frozen also for the star of contemporary Indian art, Subodh Gupta, who in his work “Oddity (II)” characteristically creates a sculpture of everyday Indian utensils. The utensils here are gilded and transformed into an object of art, but complemented by a bundle of straw, reminding us that at any moment they can be «reactivated» by fire or desire.

«If there is a sense of the real, it is obligatory because there is a sense of the possible», the Viennese novelist and philosopher Robert Muzil wrote. Artists show the full meaning of the possible, like Philippe Cognée, who in his paintings “Pivoine 4” and “Rose” reveal its life and beauty, or like Maria Kulikovska, who in «Folds of Time/Folds of Memory» emphasizes that if something is frozen, it is still capable of screaming. Tania Mouraud makes this point loud and clear by writing, “I was not born to submit”. And there is still hope, as in the works of Ghyslain Bertholon, who makes golden leaves sprout from the trunk of a dead tree, symbolizing rebirth. There is life even in the ruins of Kyiv, in which the Spanish artist Pablo Valbuena wants to see light. Life is a long journey, sometimes fueled by exiles and migrations, which are universal, and the Korean KIMSOOJA reminds us of that. But in order for art to exist, for barbarism to be defeated and for freedoms to be restored, the struggle of people and artists must be constant and have its heroes, portrayed by Portuguese street artist VHILS, and universal fighters, such as the sculptures of American Cleon Peterson, who seem to come from Greece, ancient Egypt and the streets of modern New York simultaneously. It is a time that repeats itself endlessly, as in the fascinating film of the internationally renowned Albanian artist Anri Sala, which, like in a theatrical production, shows 1395 days («1395 Days without Red») when Sarajevo was in the crosshairs of snipers. It is a film in which the same scene repeats itself over and over again, like terrible times that will never end. Time repeats itself weightlessly in the Soundwalk Collective’s amazing video about Chornobyl, where Patti Smith’s voice and words envelop us in beauty.

Time is a quantum, it forms, deforms and crosses past, present and future for Nikita Kravtsov and Roman Minin. No, time has not stopped in Ukraine, and life and happiness are still here, right in front of the faces of the barbarians, that is symbolized by such a simple and beautiful “Petit cercle de vie” by Prune Nourry, a sculpture that seems to tell us that we give birth not in 9 months, but in the course of our life, in the course of our whole life. The time is ours.

Fabrice Bousteau

Read the interview with the curator

ARTISTS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

THIS WEEK


OTHER EVENTS


The module

Module of Temporality contains of 27 containers that form an open space and separate halls inside, as well as several terraces. The architectural concept and interior of MOT were designed by Balbek Bureau.