The exhibition “Oberig” features the works of two contemporary Ukrainian artists — Margaryta Zhurunova and Bohdan Lokatyr. The artists began their collaboration in 2015 in the field of land art and have since continued their journeys through solo projects. However, their works remain closely connected, and their creative synergy is evident in shared themes.
The word “Oberih” is Ukrainian and refers to an object, image, drawing, sign, or talisman that is believed to protect a person, family, or home from evil, harm, or malevolent spirits.
The central theme of the exhibition is the exploration of collective trauma during wartime, the proximity of death, and the sense of helplessness that drives one to seek the magical, archaic, and sacred. The artists note, “Our projects, though created separately, are perceived as parts of a single whole. We started from different points but found a common language in aesthetics and ideas. Our practices reflect deep societal processes, exploring and actively participating in them.”
Margaryta Zhurunova was born in 1994 in Vinnytsia. She works with printed graphics, installation, and graphics that transition into installation, and she is also known as a land artist. She explores the sacred and the non-manmade, actively working with the theme of the invisible, studying Ukrainian folklore and demonology. Margaryta’s graphic works are part of the project *SAVE ME. HELP ME. PROTECT ME.* This project is a plea that has taken material form. Repeated many times, like a litany, a sincere prayer, an incantation, or a child’s request, it has manifested in the artist’s works. Margaryta emphasizes that in her works, there is a plea, “I ask, protect,” which resonates in hearts as long as humanity exists. The recurring image in her works is archaic, as it resembles a figure with hands raised in the gesture of the Orant.
Bohdan Lokatyr was born in 1994 in Dnipro and later moved with his family to Lviv. He works with materials found in nature, using their physical properties as artistic images in his works. The main directions of the artist’s work are land art, graphics, and installation. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Bohdan has dedicated his projects to the transformations of landscapes and spaces, the familiar elements of which are scarred by the consequences of war. The works in the exhibition explore the theme of memory and hope through images of landscapes and portraits created from resin, wax, and metal. These materials become symbols of different aspects of war and its impact: dark resin absorbs the landscapes, while light wax preserves ephemeral memories of a peaceful past. The centerpiece is the installation “Prayer,” which consists of a sword-candle and a “Shroud.” The sword-candle symbolizes the phenomenon of the sacralization of weapons, of protective violence, while the “Shroud” is a work of reflection on the emergence of new sacred artifacts in the context of modern warfare. It is an act of honoring memory, exploring the longing for what has been lost, and the sacralization of new symbols and memories in the conditions of war.
The exhibition “Oberig” is a space for reflection on spiritual changes and new rituals that emerge during times of crisis.
