Black Sea, 2023
Live streaming, color determination program
The Black Sea geographically, economically, and politically connects several countries and is at the center of many regional and global events. Despite its name, the color of the sea is not static and constantly changes due to various factors, including geopolitical situations.
Since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, trade with Russia through Black Sea routes has continued despite numerous promises from politicians, thereby providing ongoing funding for the conflict.
This video installation features a real-time broadcast from a camera pointed at the sea and synchronized with a color detection program. The broadcast, shown at the Elektrozavod Gallery in Moscow, was conducted from the coast of the Black Sea near Batumi, Georgia, in June 2023. During this time, the military conflict led to the tragedy at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant; the destruction of the dam in the Kherson region of Ukraine resulted in the flooding of 28 settlements, filling the sea with drifting debris, sand, and soil from Ukrainian villages. Each color change in the seawater was recorded by the program and displayed on the screen throughout the video broadcast, essentially serving as a continuous recording and presentation of evidence of ongoing war crimes.
The exhibition view in art space tmp_space, Batumi, Georgia.
Photo: author’s archive.
Here and below are video samples of the translation
This real-time recording and presentation of the Black Sea's color changes, correlating with the ongoing conflict, created an unsettling yet powerful visual narrative. It served as an abstract yet poignant commentary on the human cost of war and the intricate geopolitics of the region.
Here and below: an exhibition which took place in Electrozavod Gallery, Moscow, 2023
Photo: Eugeniya Zubchenko
