Anton
Shebetko
Tryouts
Dear Sons and Daughters
of Ukraine
Simeiz
To Know Us Better
We Were Here
A Very Brief and Subjective
Queer History of Ukraine
It's not your problem (neon)
Proposal for the statue
of Billy Herrington
for the city of Odesa
Who allowed you
to live beautifully?
Self-portrait / Ukraine
Ukrainian Queer TV:
An Open Archive
Brave
A victim sustained injuries
The Pride Camouflage Flag
Common People
Pleshka
Golubaya Luna (Blue Moon)
Gay Songs
It's (not) your problem
It's not the End
of the World
Mom & Dad
Formation
Portraits
Мальчики! (Boys!)
About
Contact
Supported by:
Dear Sons and Daughters of Ukraine
2025
Silkscreens, selection of the books
The presence or absence of queerness in Ukrainian culture remains a subject of speculation in Ukrainian society. Though rarely explicit, queerness has existed in subtle, coded forms within the works and correspondence of Ukrainian artists and writers.
The silkscreen series Dear Sons and Daughters of Ukraine presents portraits of scientists, artists, and political figures linked to Ukraine – whether through their origins or their contributions to the national canon. Their names are woven into the national narrative and often used to construct the collective myth of a nation. Yet the queer dimensions of their biographies are systematically silenced and erased.
The portraits in series are printed white on white using the silkscreen printing technique that emphasizes how the non-heteronormative aspects of their biographies are invisible and inconvenient for propaganda, demonstrating the complexity of their identities.
This ironic duality – being both present and absent – reflects a broader pattern: Ukrainian culture itself has often been rendered invisible, either dismissed or reframed through an imperial lens, with some of its most prominent figures appropriated and claimed as representatives of other nations.
The project is complemented by the library of research materials: biographies, diaries, documentaries, and tabloids. It invites the viewers to immerse themselves in the context, do their own research, and find their own answers.
Installation shots from PinchukArtCentre, Kyiv:
Shown at:
Kunstfort bij Vijfhuizen, Vijfhuizen, Netherlands
Schwules Museum, Berlin, Germany
PinchukArtCentre, Kyiv, Ukraine