Walter Trento: “For me, it is a matter of the security of our democracy and our freedom”
On May 8 and 9, the Italian artist will present relics in Venice in support of Ukraine during the events preceding the official opening of the Biennale. The project involves collecting fragments of destroyed daily life, sounds, and words in Ukraine, which will be ritually transported to Venice as symbolic relics of resilience and memory. Among the "artifacts" are memorabilia from Irena Karpa’s grandmother, poetry by Haska Shyyan. Contributions include works from Oksana Denysevych, Oksana Stomina, Paolo Cogli, Marko Galanevych of DakhaBrakha, and other artists, architects, and writers. Starting May 30th the "Reliquiae" exhibition will open at the Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli.
"When the war in Ukraine began, I had an idea — perhaps to go closer to the front, to my friends, the artists who are there on the zero line. But I am not a journalist. I just wanted to share ideas, concepts, perhaps with my artist friends. And then, when the director of the Venice Biennale Foundation decided to open the Russian pavilion, it became a powerful reason for me to react. Because in this way, you legitimize a crime. You destroy your own freedom, your democracy. That is why I created this project in just one month. They usually say it’s impossible, but it is possible. For me, it is a matter of the security of our democracy and our freedom." — the artist comments.
Organizers: Nùevù Studio is a multidisciplinary studio from Puglia that creates timeless spaces and objects by combining ancient techniques with natural materials such as lime, stone, ceramics, and wood.
The studio's co-founder, Walter Espedito Trento, is an artist and designer whose work focuses on the exploration of "micro-habitats" and the harmony between aesthetics and functionality through light, shadow, and natural forms..
Project Website
Artists whose works are part of this initiative: Haska Shyyan — Lviv (poet, writer) Milia Sydor — Lviv (artist and professor at the Lviv National Academy of Arts) Karolina Chernoivan — Odesa (photojournalist, fixer, volunteer) Nadiya Yamnych — Lviv (artist) Paolo Coia — Kyiv / Bari (artist and designer) Ola Kozlyk — Ternopil / Lviv / Stromboli (ceramic artist) Marjan Pyrig (Pyrozhok) — Kharkiv / Lviv (singer-songwriter, musician) Nadiia Skidan — Crimea (artist, designer) Robert Saller — Uzhhorod / Lviv Anna Senik — Kyiv (photographer) Marko Halanevych — Kyiv (artist, musician) Irena Karpa — Cherkasy / Kyiv (artist, writer, musician) Oksana Stomina — Mariupol (writer) Iryna (Ozi) Ozarinskaya — Odesa / Venice (artist) Yevhen Poliakov — Mykolaiv (Chief Architect of Mykolaiv) Boris and Oksana Denysevych — Kyiv (artists, "Garden of Eternal Love" project) Ola Cherkasova — Lviv (artist, restorer) Serhii Rozov — Kyiv (videomaker, camera operator) Barbara Burton — Kyiv (student at the Mohyla School of Journalism, documentary filmmaker) Vasyl Dmytryk — Odesa (artist, sculptor)
Object: A poem. "Cherries."
Object: A fragment of a roof beam from the Bernardine Monastery in Lviv, struck by a Russian drone on March 24th.
Object: Photos, memories of the civilian rescue service.
Object: Memories in forms, curated objects.
Object: Small-scale work featuring flechettes from Bucha.
Object: Ancient ceramics salvaged in Ternopil.
Object: Glass fragments from a Russian drone explosion.
Object: Memories of isolation, a fragment of rope.
Object: Army socks, mementos.
Object: Memories. Photographs.
Object: Sketches created during the war.
Object: Grandmother’s lace doily.
Object: The flashlight she used to keep writing during the occupation of the city.
Object: A brick from a house in Odesa.
Object: A road sign riddled with bullet holes by the Russian army.
Object: Soil from the garden.
Object: A daughter’s bracelet made during the first air raid sirens.
Object: Debris from the "Mriya" aircraft after the Battle of Hostomel.
Object: Video in memory of Danylo Denysevych.
Object: Memories of a jaw. Sculpture.
Vasyl Dmytryk. Prosthesis III. 2026. Copper, soldering, chasing, human molar tooth, 6×10×11 cm.
Photo, text: Julia Brosko, Oriy Vydibay-Yuran.
Translation: Nadiya Fomina.
Specially for Newsroom of art Defence.
