In Mykolaiv, a manuscript “The Lament of Kherson Region” about the events in the region during the Russian invasion was presented. The book is handwritten and exists in a single copy. It was created using medieval technologies by artists and graphic artists as part of the joint Ukrainian-Estonian project Lament of Kherson region in Tallinn.
During the presentation, project curator and artist Volodymyr Reinhart showed a film from the residency and the manuscript itself.
“The book is divided into four chapters – the four elements, where fire is the beginning of a full-scale invasion, earth is the beginning of resistance, the period of occupation and liberation, water is the flooding from the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, and air is the state of the present, when you seem to be suspended in the air,” Volodymyr explained.
“Lament of Kherson Region” is a completely handmade book, from cover to paper, created using medieval technologies. 12 Ukrainian artists under the guidance of Anatolii Liutiuk (Estonia) created illustrations for this book during a 10-day residency in Tallinn. The 160-page chronicle contains 52 real-life stories of modern Kherson from the beginning of the full-scale war, the occupation, the liberation, the blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station to the daily shelling that is happening right now.
The book is currently traveling around Ukraine. After Mykolaiv, it will go to Dnipro. Then it will return to Tallinn, where it will also be presented to the Estonian audience.
The event in Mykolaiv was supported by the Dansk Kulturinstitut / Danish Cultural Institute and the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House.
