Lada Nakonechna. The So-Called. 2015. Installation (stones, paper, block print). Variable sizes
Work description
The installation consists of stones scattered across the floor, some wrapped in decorative paper printed with repeated patterns. Upon closer inspection, one can discern recurring words: “executioners,” “mercenaries,” “terrorists.” Sometimes in quotation marks, sometimes not. They are written in Ukrainian, Russian, and English.
Nakonechna deliberately uses these terms out of context, transforming them into design elements for decorative paper. Yet anyone familiar with the so-called “hybrid” war (waged by Russia against Ukraine since 2014 while officially denying involvement) will recognize these words and their wartime connotations. Stones—biblically the first weapon—remain symbols of conflict, primitive aggression, or democratic revolution (e.g., cobblestones used by protesters during the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv). Wrapped like gifts in paper, the stones pass the baton to the words. The artist invites viewers to pick up a stone, read the words, and make their own decision about how to interpret them—and ultimately, which way to throw the stone (if at all).
