What is it like to be in an occupied city? What is it like to plant a vegetable garden under fire? To look at your house, shop, or church in the news about objects destroyed by the enemy? How does it feel to return to a destroyed city and bring its environment back to life, even though the war continues? Irpin, like neighboring Bucha and Hostomel, became one of Kyiv's outposts, where heavy fighting took place from February 24. One part of the town was captured, the other was severely damaged. Irpin was liberated first, on 28 March.
Media artist Olia Mykhailiuk recorded a series of interviews with residents. In these video notes, residents share their wishes for the future appearance of the town, tell about how it looked in the past, describe what flowers they like, and what plants and smells are associated with a peaceful life. Interaction with plants allows them to distract themselves from the terrible memories of March 2022. Evaluating areas in terms of the moisture and sunlight needed for bushes and flowers to take root, Irpin residents think about the city's future.
Olia Mykhailiuk, ArtPole: “In the spring, we worked in a humanitarian center, delivering aid to various towns in the Kyiv region, including Irpin. After the city’s liberation, we decided to visit here to understand better what help is currently relevant. Our project started with an acquaintance with one of the inhabitants — Leonid. The house that Leonid had built himself burned down before his eyes, but miraculously a pepper seedling survived — and he planted it. This constant interaction of the local people with the land, and their desire to take care of city was inspiring, even though the pictures of the place were far from life-affirming. The heroes of my interviews do not like the word ‘heroes’ very much. Everyone says they just were doing their job. But I think they are real heroes. Thanks to them, we did not lose Irpin, Kyiv, Ukraine, and Europe.
Describing the idea of the project in the spring, I imagined that we would note how, step by step, the city is reviving under a peaceful sky. Unfortunately, the people of Irpin have to plant their gardens and take care of them under the threat of air raid alarms and news about a possible re-invasion. And despite everything, plants sprout, and people repair their homes. Landscape design during the war is a rather challenging experience, which at the same time, inspires and may be helpful to many Ukrainians.”
The event is part of the international project Islands of Kinship: A Collective Manual for Sustainable and Inclusive Art Institutions, co-funded by the European Union and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.