A new sculptural installation “To Pass Through…” by Ukrainian artist Mykhailo Deyak has been unveiled on Mytna Square in Lviv. The five-metre stainless-steel art object has been realised with the support of Zenyk Art Gallery.
According to the artist’s concept, the installation, in the form of a symbolic portal, is dedicated to the experience of overcoming difficulties, of transition and of hope for a new stage in life. It is intended to serve as a reminder of the trials, losses and struggle that people go through, while the very act of passing through the metal structure is conceived as a metaphor for the end of one period of life and the beginning of another.
Acting Chair of the Lviv Regional Council Yurii Kholod, Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Maksym Kozytskyi, Chief of Staff of the Lviv Regional Council Yaroslav Hasiak, the project’s author Mykhailo Deyak, representatives of the City Council, the artistic community and residents of Lviv took part in the opening ceremony.
“When I walked through this installation, I had the feeling that I was being held from both sides at once. It seems to me this is a very apt image of our present. We Ukrainians live in the dimension of war, but at the same time we have Lviv, which we see every day as different, vibrant and open,” noted Yurii Kholod.
The organisers and the artist hope that the space around the installation will become a place for reflection, encounters and dialogue about the contemporary experience of Ukrainians.