Maksym Khodak
a multi-media artist whose works explore themes of history, documentation, collective memory, urban transformations and a critical view on cinema and photography. The unifying theme across his work is a critical rethinking of the Soviet legacy.
Maksym Khodak (born 2001, Bila Tserkva) studied Contemporary Arts at the Kyiv Academy of Media Arts. Now he continues his study on BA Film Study program in Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary University. Maksym is also a fellow of WHW Akademija 4th generation. In 2021, he received the Prince Claus Seed Award. Maksym Khodak has been shortlisted for PinchukArtCentre Prize 2022. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including exhibitions at the Voloshyn Gallery (2021), Kharkiv Municipal Gallery (2020), Rotor Centre for Contemporary Arts (2020) and Pasinger Fabrik (2019).
Works
“Eurofence”
Site-specific installation, 2019
This piece depicts an ordinary concrete fence of a private house. What is it? In an essay, Marcus Schroer wrote: “The success story of gated communities is a testament to the loss of confidence in the borders overseen by the state, as well as the rapid rise in popularity of the security topic and the prosperity of the security industry.” In the Ukrainian context, there has never been a greater sense of distrust at the borders after the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian territories.
My work is a site-specific installation. I have established the so-called “eurofence” on the Ukrainian-Russian border. To me, this symbolizes that by protecting our own freedom and our own borders, we support the borders and make them more resilient to external dangers.
“My favorite oligarch”
Action, 2020
The problem of oligarchy in Ukraine has been around for many years. As a child, I was surrounded by political calls to fight oligarchism in Ukraine. I grew up, but no significant changes took place. A new generation of children is now growing up and continues to hear about the struggle against oligarchy. Though it seems that only the slogans have changed, the oligarchs are also changing. Quite often they appear in the role of good philanthropists who support art and education. My work uses the form and style of children’s drawing contest “My favorite oligarch”. I invited children to draw a portrait of their favorite oligarch and compete for valuable prizes. This practice, in the gallery context, becomes a reflection on the Ukrainian art system, prompting questions about the origin of the money that finances art and the seriousness of art prizes and awards.
“Prayer for the author”
4-channel film installation, 2021
The plot of the film “Prayer for the Author” is based on the story of a famous court case in Victorian England called R v Dudley and Stephens (1884). In 1884, the 4-person crew on a small boat called Mignonette crashed in a storm. The crew managed to escape by lowering a small boat made of thin wood in the middle of a stormy ocean. Of the supplies, they had only two cans of root vegetables. They also did not have access to drinking water. On the twentieth day, two of the four team members decided that in order to survive, one of the team members, who was in a coma at the time but alive, should be eaten. They killed him and it saved them, but provoked lively discussions from a moral and ethical point of view in the society of that time. In the video, a similar story happens in a nightclub toilet.
Four girls at a party are using drugs, the situation leads to a metaphorical overdose of one of them. The event forces other girls to find the right solution to the problem. During the video, the girls reflect on modern ethics, feminism and the world after #MeToo. The discussion leads them to the only morally correct decision in this situation – to kill the author of the artwork within which they are. The visual language of the film destroys the so-called male gaze and female gaze, due to the destruction of the DOP.
“Resurrection”
Film photo, 2018 – 2022
Monuments at the present time in Ukraine are in a very uncertain state. Historically, most of the monuments in Ukrainian cities are monuments from the Soviet era. A few years ago, the so-called “law on de-communism” was adopted. After its adoption, many monuments were decommissioned. Can a memory of them remain after they are destroyed?
