Secondary Archive: Women Artists in War. Lublin. Labirynt

“Secondary Archive” is a project originating in Poland, dedicated to researching and archiving art that has long been relegated to secondary status in cultural discourse. Specifically, we focus on women’s art, which for centuries has been overshadowed by the prominence of male artists and continues to face disparities in market valuation and representation in museums. The perception of derivativeness also extends to the art of Central and Eastern Europe, where cultural narratives have often centred on Western heritage.

This year, the “Secondary Archive” welcomes 15 new Ukrainian female artists whose works explore the theme of war. War, inherently patriarchal, a phenomenon from which vulnerable social groups have always suffered more and continue to suffer. When a society militarises itself in response to armed aggression, war unconsciously perpetuates a hierarchy that labels certain experiences as primary while relegating others to a secondary status. This division permeates various facets of life, casting women as objects rather than subjects of war and reinforcing outdated notions of gender roles – presenting women as the “weaker gender”. In such contexts, art often becomes a luxury and a privilege.

Hence, there is a pressing need to seek out alternative narratives that depict the realities of war. The artists participating in the exhibition do not directly depict warfare in their works; the imagery of battlefields or the aftermath of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure no longer evoke the shock they once did.

However, the loss of their home as a result of the war and the displacement it causes inevitably influence the artists’ creative expression. They draw upon memories of home and childhood, exploring new avenues for commemorative practices.

Moreover, the war underscores the significance of home while prompting a re-evaluation of the concept of land. Ukrainian artists increasingly engage with themes of landscape, soil, and geographical identity.

Furthermore, the body, a perennial subject for female artists, appears in a distorted and altered form due to the war. Artists reassess their relationship with their bodies, sex, care, and the human body as an object of war.

Within the exhibition, Polish female artists, grappling with similar themes of home, body, and land, engage in a dialogue with their Ukrainian counterparts. This exchange unveils deeper connections between Ukrainian and Polish cultures and underscores the tendency in Eastern European art to confront sensitive topics and foster a discourse on collective female solidarity.

Exhibition opening: 18/05/2024 (Saturday), 7:00 p.m.

Where: Galeria Labirynt, ul. ks. J. Popiełuszki 5, Lublin

Exhibition on display: until 18/08/2024 (Tue.–Sun., 12:00–7:00 p.m.)

Admission: PLN 8, PLN 4 concession (free admission for the opening)

Secondary Archive: Women Artists in War | wystawa

UA artists: Katya Buchatska, Katya Libkind, Lucy Ivanova, Olha Marusyn, Anna Ivchenko, Inga Levi, Daria Molokoiedova, Marharyta Polovinko, Dasha Chechushkova, Olia Yeriemieieva, Sana Shahmuradova Tanska, Yuliia Danylevska, Kateryna Aliinyk, Viktoriia Rozentsveih, Karina Synytsia

PL Artists: Magdalena Franczak, Katarzyna Kozyra, Małgorzata Pawlak, Ewa Zarzycka, Marta Zgierska

Curatorial team: Alya Segal, Waldemar Tatarczuk

The project ‘Secondary Archive. Women Artists in War’ is supported by the European Union as part of the House of Europe program and realised in partnership with Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation, Galeria Labirynt and Galeria Artsvit.

“Secondary Archive” is a project originating in Poland, dedicated to researching and archiving art that has long been relegated to secondary status in cultural discourse. Specifically, we focus on women’s art. This year, the “Secondary Archive” welcomes 15 new Ukrainian female artists whose works explore the theme of war. The curators of the second edition of the project "Secondary Archive. Women Artists in War" were Kateryna Yakovlenko, Oksana Bryukhovetska and Alya Segal. And on February 23, 2022, an online presentation of the first addition to the archive of female artists took place with the participation of curatorial teams from Ukraine, Belarus and Poland: 70 new statements from three generations of female artists — 20 from Belarus and 50 from Ukraine — appeared on the platform https://secondaryarchive.org/. The curators of the Ukrainian part of the project were Kateryna Yakovlenko, Oksana Bryukhovetska, Kateryna Rusetska and Iryna Polikarchuk.