SOME BUILDINGS ON THE STREETS OF KHARKIV
Ed Ruscha’s iconic artist’s book EVERY BUILDING ON THE SUNSET STRIP from 1966 is today considered a precursor to conceptual artists’ books; it is viewed in the context of Duchamps’ ready-mades and Warhol’s serial works, and it is a sought-after collector’s item. Ruscha’s concertina has inspired a number of new versions. My intention was to use the external form of the famous artist’s book with completely different content. SOME BUILDINGS ON THE STREETS OF KHARKIV shows images of buildings in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that have been damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks. While Ruscha’s book places house numbers under the photographs, I used excerpts from the English translation of a presidential address by Vladimir Putin that he gave on February 21, 2023 (taken from the Kremlin website). As in earlier speeches, he blames the West and NATO for the war in Ukraine.
. . . One year ago . . . to eliminate the threat coming from the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine . . . decided to begin the special military operation . . .
In the meantime we were doing everything in our power to solve this problem by peaceful means . . . The United States and NATO quickly deployed their army bases and secret biological laboratories near Russian borders . . . Let me reiterate that they were the ones who started this war, while we used force and are using it to stop the war . . .
Concertina in slipcase, 30 pages, 14/18 cm, 30 numbered and signed copies. Flörsheim 2023.