Personal exhibition Lightless, dedicated to war in Ukraine, Bad Aibling, Germany 2023
Lightless exhibition in Germany 2023
On April 22, with the help of Kunstverein Bad Aibling Gallery, the Lightless exhibition was opened in Bad Aibling, Germany. The concept is to show life and perception of the world during the war.
Aleksandra Klitina in the opening of the Lightless exhibition in Bad Aibling, Germany.
Lightless can be interpreted literally, particularly how people in Ukraine live during constant blackouts, what kind of atmosphere prevails, and figuratively – lightless people are evil and cruel. Lightless is a terrible time, wartime. During the war, people suffer and try to reach the light.
Pregnant Hitler is the central work of this exhibition. The subject of fascism is still very sensitive in Germany, so to hang such a painting in a quiet German town was a bold concept. Locals who visited the exhibition were first shocked by the images of the fuhrer and then burst out laughing.
Apart from this artwork, there was also an installation devoted to torture chambers organized by Russians on Ukrainian-occupied territories and paintings devoted to mass rapes inflicted by the Russian millitaries in Ukraine.
Kyiv Post Journalist’s War Art Goes on Exhibition in Venice
Aleksandra Klitina, a Senior Correspondent for the Kyiv Post, has seen her artwork on display in the Venice Biennale, an international art exhibition celebrating a variety of arts, including cinema, dance, music, and architecture.
Exhibition in Kyiv Modern Art Research Institute of Ukraine
February 2022
Exhibition of paintings
22-23 of May 2021
Sky Loft Hotel
17, Esplanadna str. Kyiv, Ukraine
Aleksandra Klitina
Started her political career right after the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 to help Ukraine reform the infrastructure sector: attract investments, implement market liberalization reforms, and improve transparency. Started as an Advisor to the Minister of Infrastructure, head of the Reform Support team and in 5 years became a Deputy Minister of Infrastructure in Ukraine.
Aleksandra Klitina was an activist and protested against corruption and sexism in Ukraine first with the satirical videos that became popular on YouTube then illustrated her thoughts and ideas with paintings. She highlights political, social, and environmental problems in her artworks.
Messages of the Pregnant Hitler artwork
The painting is complex and like an onion’s layers of skin, we have to peel some back to understand the breadth of symbolism I wish to portray -- but I think Ukrainians would understand the imagery pretty well. In some way, I regard this painting as a warning. It is my way of protesting or ringing the alarm bells against war and the escalation of conflicts in the world.
- The main message of "Pregnant Hitler'' is that our world is in danger.
- Indulging in aggressors leads to escalation of conflicts. In the modern world, conflicts should not be resolved by force, otherwise our world will be buried in a wave of aggression.
- It seems that aggression, weapons, and determination to kill today, as 82 years ago, prevail in modern diplomacy, if one country gathers troops to attack, openly terrifying and blackmailing the whole world. The question is - does the system of collective security work at all? Can its effectiveness need to be reviewed?
- Political leaders must do everything possible to avoid the next world war, because, given the potential of modern weapons, this will be our end as humanity.
- Fascism is not dead, it is acquiring more and more sophisticated forms and discrimination, violation of human rights, racism, sexism are the germs of the ideology of fascism where some people prevail in rights over others.
- The painting touches upon the problems of women's leadership on the one hand, there is a need for more women leaders in big politics, which would change the world for the better. On the other hand, women go to the point of absurdity trying to literally become men in order to achieve success. The goal of feminism is to help women find their own path and change the world so that women are comfortable being themselves, and not adjust to male standards.
- The digital installation drawing attention to the war in Ukraine is not a local problem, but a direct consequence of the conflict between the ideologies of the democratic world and authoritarianism, which is growing every year. It is becoming clear that democratic principles are incompatible with totalitarian regimes, and the more they are tolerated, the more threatening they become. It is most likely that this confrontation will intensify in the future.
