New exhibit shows horrors of war in Ukraine using doors imported from urban battlefields

tomtidgewellNovember 10, 2022

Ruslan Kurt’s art installation Doors features eight real doors salvaged from across the country and beyond since the beginning of the war.

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November 10, 2022 • 27 minutes ago • 4 minute read • join the conversation

Ruslan Kurt’s Doors is on Saturday at 6pm at the Ukrainian Arts Council in Alberta. Photo by Ruslan Kurt

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When Putin’s Russian Federation invaded in February and began stealing Ukrainian territory, it betrayed the spirit of longstanding Ukrainian gestures.

“Especially in Ukraine,” says Ukrainian-born, Toronto-based artist Ruslan Kurt.

“So Ukrainians are always welcoming people.”

Once the troops started crossing the border, what the Orwellian doublespeak “special military operation” and “liberation mission” really did was kick down the open door.

Russia’s former KGB officer president even had the courage to pretend to be a victim in his de facto pursuit of a long-stale 19th-century tsard.

Of course, the emperor, who died more than a century ago, sparked the Russian Revolution.

But tracing it back to the here and now, Kurt’s art installation Doors has salvaged eight actual doors from around the country and around the world since the war began.

The exhibition opens Saturday at 6:00 pm at the Ukrainian Arts Center (100, 10554 110 St.) and runs through November 25th.

The show’s mission statement says how we walk through the door from the day we are born to the day we die, and how many people have already died in war and will never cross our threshold again.

Ukrainian-born artist Ruslan Kurt lives in Toronto with his wife. Photo by Ruslan Kurt

Kurt explains his concept of being part art and part museum piece. This aims to raise awareness of what is currently happening in Ukraine. “One thing I can say about this installation is that people walk across the door of their homes and leave their normal lives behind.

“Breaking down doors is like destroying the lives of many Ukrainian families.”

“The second part is,” he continues. But now they won’t protect us.

“So no part of Ukraine feels safe anymore.”

Kurt’s family is still in Ukraine, and he’s spent the last few years working in marketing in Toronto, but the 32-year-old returned home for Orthodox Christmas and New Year’s Eve in January to spend time with his wife. I was planning on going back. To Melitopol — since it was annexed by Russia through illegal land grabs.

She was still there when the invasion began, but fled through the Green Corridor to Romania, where they were reunited.

“Sometimes I’m involved in certain projects and not so involved, but for me this is very personal,” says the artist. “My friends and parents were in Ukraine and I remember that.

“I will never forget when my wife called me and said, ‘The war has started.’ Everyone thought about it, but no one believed it was real. No. It’s very personal and this is what I want people to see.”

ACUA’s gallery space showcases eight doors framed, and repeats of the series have already been exhibited in other cities such as Winnipeg and Toronto. Doors come from Kyiv, Kharkov, Sumy and the surrounding area. The latter is his two cities in northeastern Ukraine. Volunteers helped find them and send them to Canada, sometimes pulling them from the piles of debris and trash that made up suburban streets.

The artist wants the door to be seen and fully experienced in real life. “When I’m talking about something, even if you look at a picture, it doesn’t feel the same as when you see the actual door that people used to have.

The door is wooden so it smells burnt. ”

Ruslan Kurt

“It’s a whole different experience. Some of the doors are wooden, so they smell burnt.”

While Putin is the “mastermind” behind the invasion, Kurt’s responsibility is broader and stands as a warning.

“The Russian system is completely rotten,” he says. “Those who know Russian culture from the inside, or who know it as a neighbor, know that it’s not one gentleman’s problem.

“Yeah, he started it, and it’s supported by the government and a lot of people. I think there are people in Russia who really resist war now. Either they’re in jail, they’re there soon, or they’re killed right away. ”

The artist is grateful to all countries that support Ukraine.

“When it comes to people,” he says. He is very grateful to the volunteers, the companies sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and the people welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their homes. ”

Kurt is hesitant to predict how this will end, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declined the offer of safe haven and instead continued to fight, citing his famous saying, “We need ammunition, not vehicles.” I am particularly proud to say that

“No one believed that Ukraine could resist and basically fight, because it is Russia,” says Kurt. “And now everyone can see the true face of her second largest army in the world. Ukraine is still fighting and fighting, taking care of its citizens.

“I am very proud to be Ukrainian,” he says. “Even though we are far from the country, we feel ourselves now. It is a problem of

“We can see the light, and I can do something to support,” Kurt says.

fgriwkowsky@postmedia.com

@Fisheye Photo