Defending Liberty
Installation by
Chris Chernow, installation artist
Olha Onyshko, video and film artist
Ivan Kryvutsky, woodworker
Presented in conjunction with:
Heroes of Liberty
Enhancing Well-Being, Resilience, and Civic Engagement of Ukrainian Veterans
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Capital Visitor Center, Room 268 North
US Capital
March 12 – 25, 2020
Embassy of Ukraine
3350 M St. NW, Georgetown DC
Chain link fencing, spent shell casings and a video projection of scrolling names of soldiers and police officers who have given their lives interact to address the conflict presently engulfing Ukraine. Our installation honors those who have fallen and extends from the first fallen, who was on his guard duty in Crimea in March 2014, to a soldier killed right before we setup. He was delivering provisions to the Ukrainian border patrol.
The fencing and the spent shells represent the cause and effect of this war, started by the Russian Federation, that is affecting the lives of every Ukrainian. We are remembering the men and women who have fallen in this fight defending liberty as soldiers, medics, policemen, border patrol, civilian contractors, and volunteers. We were not able to include the thousands and thousands of civilians who have also lost their life.
Our hope was to spotlight the terrible losses that are happening in Ukraine.
The Bullet Project was installed at the Ukrainian Consulate in Washington DC. It is an interactive piece.
It was installed on March 11, 2020 and we were to start the interactive process the next day. Everything closed. The photography had to be cancelled and I am relying on some quick photos done on my iphone.
Ukrainian woman holding the bullets she found while tending her garden.
The goal of the Bullet Project is to bring attention to the conflict that is ravaging Ukraine. The bullets represent the human cost of this conflict.
Placed next to the structure is a table that is set up with small pieces of paper in the same palette as the camouflage net. There is a placard that invites viewers to write a note about what the bullets mean to them and then to tie these notes onto the chain link fencing. They can also add a bullet to this piece.
There is a video component that is included to pay our respects to all the soldiers who have died in this conflict. It scrolls the names of the fallen soldiers starting from the first shot in Crimea on March 18, 2014 until March 8, 2020. The video played at the Capital Building in Washington DC on March 11, 2020.