Nikolay Karabinovych
The Last Artwork about the War (2024)
Courtesy of the artist
A daring claim stands behind Nikolay Karabinovych’s new film, namely to be the last work about Russia’s continuing assault on Ukraine—possibly in all of art. It looks at the war from the unusual angle of a psychoanalytic session.
The reluctant patient dreams of ending therapy and finding liberation—a liberation that turns out to be identical with that from enemy occupation in an endless war. The dialogue between therapist and patient soon takes a turn for the absurd in the tradition of modernist theater. In their conversation, personal, historical, and political dimensions meld and fuse, evoking ambiguous images of victory and liberation that might never be attained.
Nikolay Karabinovych (1988, Odesa, Ukraine) is an artist who works with media such as video, performance, sound, and sculpture. He explores the social history of Eastern Europe, approaching collective and personal memory with analytical, conceptual, and interventionist tactics. His works have been shown in numerous institutions, such as M HKA, Antwerp; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Jewish Museum of Belgium, Brussels; Bozar, Brussels; Pinchuk Art Center, Kyiv. He has also participated in the Kaunas Biennale (2023) and the Kyiv Biennale (2021, 2023), among others. He lives in Amsterdam.
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’24
With the kind support of ERSTE Foundation
4K video, stereo sound, 21 min., in loop
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’24
With the kind support of ERSTE Foundation