White Cliffs of Vinnytsia
Karolina Uskakovych
University of Nottingham12.11.2024, 18:30
Municipal Art Center, 11 Stefanyka St.
We invite you to the lecture by Karolina Uskakovych, which continues the public program "Domowroty / ПОВЕРНЕННЯ / Homing."
The territory of the Vinnytsya Chemical Plant stretches along the railroad tracks, not far from the central city railway station. Founded in 1920, Khimprom was one of Ukraine's largest chemical enterprises and went bankrupt in the late nineties, leaving behind a toxic legacy – a phosphogypsum stack known locally as the "white mountains."
The dump attracts not only those who want to take advantage of cheap raw materials for industrial needs, but also local creatives who are fascinated by its unique, almost cosmic landscape. Every year, the relief of the "white cliffs" becomes more and more "earthly", hiding behind the bright green of plant biodiversity. A young forest has grown on the territory of the dump, a thin stream and dense reeds have created a wetland ecosystem, and a pond has sheltered a colony of sand martins. Magpies, wood pigeons, collared doves, ducks, woodpeckers, reed warblers, and hares can often be seen here.
In her project, Karolina Uskakovych returns to her hometown to explore the ecosystem of the landfill through archival work, visual research, collaboration with experts, and conceptualization of post-industrial urban ecologies. What is the ecosystem that forms on the phosphogypsum stack? What is its cultural and ecological significance? Do the "white cliffs" pose a threat of environmental pollution, or have they become a haven for wildlife within the industrial zone? Can these roles coexist?
During the lecture, we will talk about the decolonial rethinking of the urban landscape, the experience of other countries, the Ukrainian context, and the creation of artistic visions of post-industrial ecosystems.
Karolina Uskakovych
She is a multidisciplinary artist, designer and researcher. In her practice she explores the intertwining of nature, culture and technology. Caroline works as a researcher at the University of Nottingham, art director of Anthroposphere: Oxford Climate Review and is a member of the Digital Ecologies group. She is also a co-founder of the charitable organization Uzvar Collective and Ukrainian Environmental Humanities Network, an interdisciplinary space for academics, practitioners, and artists who are defining this new field.
The event is organized by the Center for Urban History together with INDEX.
Drawing on the metaphor of "returns," which is particularly sensitive today, the series "Domowroty / ПОВЕРНЕННЯ / Homing" actualizes reflections on the constant process of physical and material return, as well as emotional and intellectual reflections on what is place, belonging, and connection. The public program is part of the project "Homing: Returns of People, Places and Archive." The project is implemented in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine.
The exhibition "Domowroty / ПОВЕРНЕННЯ / Homing. Włodzimierz Puchalski" is organized by Andrij Bojarov, Center for Urban History and Lviv Municipal Art Center in partnership with the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Lviv and Department of Culture of the Lviv City Council.
Credits
Cover image: Phosphogypsum stack, Vinnytsia / photo by Karolina Uskakovych
Gallery: Yevheniia Trenchuk