Victor & Sergiy Kochetov

Ukraine-Russia / Volleyball

Ukraine-Russia / Volleyball by Viktor and Sergiy Kochetov features a concrete monument of women volleyball players before the railway station in the village of Vodyanoye, Kharkiv region. It’s a typical Soviet sculptural composition, thousands of which were casted in the USSR during this period. Many can still be found all over post-Soviet territories, leading to regular debates on the destiny of this visual heritage in Ukraine. Looking at the shabby state of the figures, it’s difficult to believe the Kochetovs’ image was taken just a year after the collapse of the USSR. The photograph is metaphorical for Ukrainian-Russian conflict, as the inscriptions “Kyiv” and “M” (hinting at Moscow) are highlighted on the jerseys of the volleyball players. In light of ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine, this scene can be perceived as an anti-monument to the system that exhausted all its inner relations. The sculptural composition becomes a testimony of the past, and the overpainting reveals the traces of time.