How Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov's Venice Biennale installation was saved from war

Parts of 'The Fountain of Exhaustion' were driven out of Kyiv in February at the beginning of the Russian invasion

Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov with his piece 'The Fountain of Exhaustion' at Ukraine's pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2022. AFP

Makov's installation comprises 78 light blue funnels mounted on a triangle through which water flows, slowing as it travels downwards to drip slowly into the collecting basin, echoing in the otherwise silent space. AP

Pavlo Makov describes his work as 'a metaphor for contemporary life'. AP

Visitors view 'The Fountain of Exhaustion' by artist Pavlo Makov at Ukraine's pavilion. AFP

Makov, 63, one of Ukraine's most important living artists, said his participation was 'an act of defiance' against the Russian invaders.

Art curator Maria Lanko loaded her car with several works of art, including Makov's installation, and drove for six days through Romania, Hungary and Austria before arriving in Italy. AFP

'The Fountain of Exhaustion' was inspired by the lack of vitality Makov felt as Ukraine transitioned to an independent nation in the early 1990s, and again as he travelled throughout Europe in the 2000s.

A total of 58 countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are represented in national pavilions at the Venice Biennale, showcasing 213 individual artists. AFP

Art curator Maria Lanko and Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov at the Venice Biennale. AFP

Organisers of the Venice Biennale banned anyone linked to the Russian government from the entire event, joining a global cultural boycott of Moscow over the war. AP

On February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, curator Maria Lanko loaded her car with several works of art and drove for six days through Romania, Hungary and Austria before arriving in Italy. One of those pieces, a monumental installation by Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov, is now on display at Ukraine's pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Makov's installation, The Fountain of Exhaustion, comprises 78 light blue funnels mounted on a triangle through which water flows, slowing as it travels downwards to drip slowly into the collecting basin, echoing in the otherwise silent space.

He describes his work as "a metaphor for contemporary life".

"I don't think art can change the world. But art can help us to survive," he told AFP.

Scroll through the gallery above for more pictures from Pavlo Makov's Venice Biennale installation.

A visitor takes a photo of 'Fountain of Exhaustion' by artist Pavlo Makov at Ukraine's pavilion. AFP

The 59th Biennale, one of the world's prestigious art exhibitions, has however been overshadowed by the war.

Makov, 63, one of the country's most important living artists, said his participation was "an act of defiance" against the Russian invaders.

"This war in Ukraine is not an ethnic conflict," he told Associated Press.

“It is a conflict of cultures. They want to destroy, to demolish, to eliminate Ukrainian culture, so that Ukraine doesn’t exist.”

In Kyiv, Makov left behind his adult son and daughter, who were working as volunteers to help the besieged population — and his lifetime production of artworks.

“There was no question about whether to take art, because there was no room for it,” he said. “Plus, we were leaving from the bomb shelter, we were not leaving from home or the studio.”

His works have since been transferred to safer ground in western Ukraine. Some pieces have already been requested for exhibitions elsewhere.

The Fountain of Exhaustion was inspired by the lack of vitality he felt as Ukraine transformed into an independent nation in the early 1990s, and again as he travelled throughout Europe in the 2000s.

“I felt this lack of ability to protect ideas. I felt this dependence on the energy that Europe was receiving from not democratic societies was growing,’’ says Makov.

A total of 58 countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are represented in national pavilions at the Venice Biennale, showcasing 213 individual artists. But the Russian Pavilion lays empty, after the curator and artists resigned following the invasion, with artist Kirill Savchenkov saying "there is no place for art when civilians are dying".

Organisers of the Biennale praised the move and subsequently banned anyone linked to the Russian government from the entire event, joining a global cultural boycott of Moscow over the war.

In Venice, Makov is speaking more about the war than about his art.

“It is like a diplomatic mission for us," he says. “I see myself less as an artist and more as a citizen of my country.”

Scroll through the gallery below for Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim's installation at the National Pavilion UAE at Venice Biennale:

Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim’s installation of 128 sculptures, Between Sunrise and Sunset, has opened at the Venice Biennale's National Pavilion UAE. All photos: Ismail Noor / National Pavilion UAE

Arranged in a thick column in the cavernous Arsenale room, the tree-like sculptures are inspired by Ibrahim's hometown of Khorfakkan

The forms remain the same but the colours change as one walks towards the back of the room, with beiges and taupes taking the place of formerly lurid shades

Made of papier-mache, the objects seem painted but actually gain their colour from the paper used to create them

Ibrahim mixed coloured sheaves of paper as a painter mixes paint, and also incorporated everyday, organic material from around him — leaves from trees in his garden in Khorfakkan, tobacco, tea, coffee, and even the cardboard packaging from toys which his grandchildren would save for him

Curated by Maya Allison, executive director of NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, the exhibition presents a major new work by an Emirati artist

Bright colours change into a more desolate landscape of blacks and whites as you walk through the installation

The work, and the performative walk around it, affect the transition from day to night, as seen by the eye

In some ways, the sculptures resemble trees and animals, but Ibrahim says they represent neither

Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim: Between Sunrise and Sunset is now open to the public at the Venice Biennale and runs until November 27, 2022

— Additional inputs by AP and AFP