Screening & Artist Talk with Mykola Ridnyi

In the form of a post-Internet travelogue, Ridnyi revisits the militarist, accelerationist aesthetic of Italian Futurism through its filmic documents. He looks at its daredevil misogyny and its embrace of purifying violence, and how this aesthetic recurs in the present—where Futurist ideas inspire not only museumgoers but Ukrainian nationalists and Italian neofascists alike. Contrary to the myths spread by Kremlin propaganda, these new followers of F.T. Marinetti and E. Pound have no special preference for Ukraine; they tend, rather, to fight on the side of the Russians (whose troops include a vast number of ultranationalists). Ridnyi’s film deftly navigates the ideological complexities of this topic—showing how cultural history normalizes and reproduces the toxic ideologies of the past, and how artists might work to fully deconstruct them.

Mykola Ridnyi (1985, Kharkiv, Ukraine) is an artist, sculptor, filmmaker, and curator. His performances, installations, sculptures, and short films reflect the social and political realities of contemporary Ukraine. He cofounded the group SOSka in 2005, an art collective that has curated and organized numerous projects in Kharkiv. His work has been shown in various international exhibitions and film festivals. He is currently working on a residency program by Fondazione la Quadrienale di Roma

For online participation via Zoom, please follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7475586652

Scientific Organization: Lesia Kulchynska (Bibliotheca Hertziana), Yevheniia Moliar (Bibliotheca Hertziana), Amir Saifullin (University of Zurich)