Zero Tolerance

The exhibition “Zero Tolerance” consists of four video works dealing with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The animated film “MARIUPOL. A HUNDRED NIGHTS” by illustrator Sofiya Melnyk tells of the terrible events that took place in Mariupol in the spring of 2022 and is dedicated to the children who died as a result of the war. The video works “WAR” by photographer Olexandr Glyadyelov and “UKRAINE 2022” by photographer Maksym Dondyuk document Russian crimes in Ukraine in unique footage, showing, among other things, the evacuation of civilians from the Kiev region and gruesome findings after the occupation and destruction. “#WAR_DIARY” is a documentary film made by actors from the Centre of Contemporary Arts DAKH in Kiev. They kept a video diary to express their fears and hopes during the first week, month and year of the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian illustrator and animator Sofiya Melnyk is a graduate of the Animation Institute at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. She has illustrated several books and album covers, worked as an animation artist, animation supervisor and designer on short films as well as animated feature films and documentaries for television and cinema. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she has devoted her projects almost exclusively to this subject and to promoting Ukrainian art.

The Ukrainian documentary photographer and photojournalist Olexandr Glyadyelov has reported on the armed conflicts in Moldova, Nagorno-Karabakh, Chechnya and Ukraine and has been wounded several times during the course of his work. Since 1996, Glyadyelov has focused on long-term photographic projects, including on abused children, the HIV/Aids epidemic among drug users and post-Soviet prisons. Glyadyelov’s photographs have been used by international organisations such as The Global Fund, WHO and UNICEF and have been shown in more than 30 solo exhibitions to date. His works are in private collections in the USA and Europe. Olexandr Glyadyelov has not left Ukraine since 24 February 2022, documenting the Russian invasion of various regions of Ukraine.

Ukrainian artist Maksym Dondyuk uses photography, video, text and archival material in his works, often addressing issues of history, memory, conflict and their consequences. Since 2014, he has been photographing the war in Ukraine and keeping a “visual diary” of events there. Dondyuk’s photos are published by leading Western magazines such as Der Spiegel, Paris Match, Time, Stern and others.

Andrii Palatnyi, curator of the installation and “#WAR_DIARY”, has been an actor and project manager at the Centre for Contemporary Art DAKH in Kyiv since 2010 and curator of theatre and performing arts, residency programme and international relations at the International Multidisciplinary Festival of Contemporary Art “GOGOLFEST” in Kyiv since 2016. In 2019 and 2020 Palatnyi was an honorary advisor to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports of Ukraine on theatre issues, in 2021 curator of the Festival Laboratory of Contemporary Theatre iStage and the Marathon of International Residencies as part of the 2021 Mariupol Capital of Culture. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Palatnyi’s artistic work has focused almost exclusively on promoting Ukrainian culture in Europe and supporting Ukraine.

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