Rehearsal For The Victory Day Concert
audio performance / 2022 / ongoing
Photo © Yelyzaveta Koval, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Yelyzaveta Koval, courtesy of the YermilovCentre
The experimental music band _mediaklub was founded in 2020 based on the educational platform for the development of new media art Photinus, which arose from the initiative of artists Lera Polianskova, Heorhii Potopalskyi, Max Robotov, and Ivan Svitlychnyi. Over time, the platform has become Ukraine's most influential media community. _mediaklub, like Photinus, is a community of like-minded people united by common practices, electronic music, and media art. Synthesizing electronic and analog instruments in their practice, the members of the _mediaklub band explore interaction with each other through unusual musical forms. The principle of their work is based on openness in the choice of medium (from sound to visuals) and in the composition of the participants - it is not constant, and different members of the Photinus community are involved from concert to concert. The band's flexible lineup assembles and combines sounds every time so that their performance never sounds the same.
Rehearsals for the Victory Day emerged after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as, on the one hand, a necessity to preserve the community, and on the other hand, to enable Max Robotov, who has been serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the war, to stay involved in the artistic process, overcome isolation and feel part of the community.
It is the communication and interaction of the participants that form the imaginary safe space allowing the community to continue living and creating. "Rehearsal For The Victory Day" is a musical improvisation that takes the form of an open rehearsal. It is designed in such a way that participants connect from different geographical locations and merge in real-time in a common sound. Max Robotov plays the role of a "conductor" here, giving orders as to when each instrument, voice, and participant should interact. Obviously, a performance contains an element of risk and involves the possibility of failure. Max Robotov's work is impossible to secure, but the artist himself is one of those who secure our lives today.
In the context of the exhibition Sense of Safety, the event is organized in cooperation with Musik der Jahrhunderte in Stuttgart, a German institution that develops and promotes new music. During the performance, _mediaklub participants are connected from six locations: the YermilovCenter in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, and the front line.