Kyiv Unveils War-Themed Art Ahead of Burning Man Festival

Outside the St. Sophia Cathedral in central Kyiv, an eerie installation, Black Cloud, set to be presented at the Burning Man annual independent art festival in the U.S., is now being showcased.

Vitaliy Deynega, Ukraine’s prominent volunteer and public figure, reported this on Facebook, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

An installation Ukraine will present at Burning Man has been installed outside the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.

As Deynega noted, "there are now more and more signals that Russia is not going to stop at Ukraine. And if we, together with the whole world, do not stop them here, then we will have to stop them on the territory of the EU."

"This scenario now seems as unrealistic as Russia's attack on us seemed unrealistic in December 2013. It's just a blind faith that once peace reigned in Europe for several generations in a row, it will always be like that. We also once thought so, and before us, so did the Georgians. And before them, so did many other nations," he added.

Deynega added that this year Ukraine will bring to Burning Man an art piece that visualizes the "elephant in the room", a huge existential threat that is already here.

"It has already come and is not going to go anywhere. Europe and the USA may further ignore it, but they can also prepare and help us. That’s if they want to live, of course," the volunteer emphasized.

According to Deynega, the work will first be showcased in Ukraine before being sent to the USA.

The installation will remain in the Sofia Square until June 9.

It includes a sculptural part, light, music, and integrated sounds of war.

The work authored by Oleksiy Sai and produced by Vitaliy Deynega was created in collaboration with the Ukrainian Art Group and the Ukrainian Witness media project.

The sounds of war were recorded in Zaporizhzhia region by Denys Barabanza.

As reported, Burning Man is an eight-day independent art event annually held in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.