Maria Prymachenko
Nuclear war –
Damn her!
So that people don't know her,
They don't shed tears
Maria Prymachenko was born at the beginning of the 20th century in the village of Bolotnya, located between Kyiv and Chernobyl. The 1986 nuclear disaster and the resulting radiation and contamination of the area directly threatened the artist's hometown. They also significantly influenced her later work, in which she often referred to this event.
Prymachenko's art related to the atom can be seen as an attempt to find a representation of the invisible threat of radioactive contamination and a form of protest against nuclear war. The work Nuclear War – Damn her! uses the language of imagination and archetypes to create a new post-atomic bestiary. Several of the twin Chernobyl compositions depict dangerous beasts, sinister hybrids, with snakes coming out of their mouths or ears (it is probably not a coincidence that she chose this particular animal, which is often associated with evil in folk symbolism). It was a vivid and direct accusation and opposition to the threat of nuclear destruction, which went beyond the world order in which the artist existed.
These works may be particularly interesting in Soviet culture, which saw atomic energy as an extremely strong symbol of man's triumph in his eternal struggle over nature. At the same time, Chernobyl is the moment of collapse of the narrative about humanity's victory over nature, which was supposed to be tamed by technology. Maria Prymachenko's art, with the power of artistic expression, built a different story about a symbiosis of the human and non-human worlds, in which these elements could remain in balance. The nuclear threat cannot be included in the reality understood in this way. It is evil. It cannot be over-enchanted, even by art, hence the need to find an adequate representation.
The work is presented at the Tiger in the Garden. Art by Maria Prymachenko exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, which can be viewed until June 30, 2024.
P.S. Explore the unique world of Maria Prymachenko's art! The creatures she imagined are truly out of this world.