Photo © Andrei Stsebureka, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Andrei Stsebureka, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre
"Web of Material"
Graffiti | The work was created especially for the exhibition "Sense of Safety" | The work will become a permanent part of the YermilovCenter / 2024
Vitalii Kokhan, working in various media, pays special attention to the material: glass, concrete, wood, sand, and even spider webs. The artist explores the potential of each of them, revealing the essence of artistic expression through their natural qualities. Vitalii Kokhan's work is filled with quiet meditation and slowing down of time, enhancing the process's value.
The work created for this project continues the author's research on the materiality of memory. In the digital world, it is difficult to predict what data from the Internet will reach our descendants in hundreds of years. History is always rewritten to suit the needs of contemporaries, and the material artifacts of Ukrainian society are destroyed by the enemy every day. In his work, the author raises the question: what information is valuable enough to be left to posterity? What material can preserve and transmit information through the ages?
The artist emphasizes the value of the daily experience of life, which can be interrupted at any moment. In search of answers, he turns to the experience of his ancestors. Like the inscriptions on the walls of St. Sophia of Kyiv, the artist carves his messages on the concrete surfaces of the YermilovCenter. Perhaps in a thousand years, archaeologists will find this work and use it to study the history of the Russian-Ukrainian war.