Lesia Khomenko unveils monumental train station artwork on Ukraine’s Independence Day

As Ukraine marks its Independence Day, creator Lesia Khomenko is bringing powerful caller meaning to 1 of nan country’s busiest nationalist spaces.

Khomenko has turned nan main hallway of Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi train position into her impermanent studio, creating a 21-by-12 metre coating that mirrors nan activity and tone of a federation fighting for its survival.

Installed successful business pinch Ukrainian Railways, nan activity marks a bold return to nationalist creation for nan creator and arrives conscionable up of her upcoming solo accumulation astatine nan PinchukArtCentre, opening 28 August. 

“The Central Train Station successful Kyiv is simply a very affectional spot for everyone whose life dramatically changed done nan full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine,” Khomenko tells Euronews Culture. “Every time I spot a batch of families and injured soldiers here. I besides break into tears erstwhile I get aliases time off Kyiv. It's very difficult to enactment a captious creator successful specified a nationalist place.” 

The immense creation depicts an ascending escalator filled pinch blurred figures – soldiers, railway workers, medics, warfare photographers – each based connected existent group who took portion successful a photoshoot for nan piece. Khomenko says their activity symbolises corporate effort, history successful motion, and nan near-impossibility of afloat knowing a infinitesimal while still surviving wrong it. 

“The mobility effect turns nan group of group into a agreed assemblage that looks rather absurd pinch nary clear boundaries,” she says. “It’s astir clip and nan impossibility to seizure nan humanities infinitesimal while being wrong nan moment.” 

The coating greets travellers arsenic they descend into nan hallway from nan position escalators, pinch elephantine chandeliers partially obscuring their first position earlier nan afloat image is revealed – transforming a travel (whether it beryllium an mundane commute, aliases possibly a longer travel into Ukraine) into a quiet enactment of reflection.

“I ideate passengers who person conscionable arrived successful Kyiv and stepped connected nan escalator... I deliberation it could beryllium interesting. I’m expecting that passengers could task depicted characters connected themself: ‘Wow, it could beryllium me!’” 

Though its unveiling coincides pinch Independence Day, Khomenko notes nan timing was a “lucky coincidence” – but 1 that brings meaningful resonance. The activity is portion of a typical nationalist committee linked to her upcoming solo accumulation astatine nan PinchukArtCentre, opening 28 August. 

“I was dreaming astir specified an opportunity for a while,” she tells Euronews Culture. “I deliberation that organization abstraction is secure for immoderate benignant of creator gesture. But successful a nationalist space, nan artwork is facing existent life and becomes portion of nan architecture.” 

Björn Geldhof, creator head of nan PinchukArtCentre, says nan position activity expands Khomenko’s believe beyond nan gallery, building connected Ukraine’s rich | – but ideologically fraught – contented of public art. 

“Khomenko’s temporal installation consciously engages pinch this contented while simultaneously rejecting its ideological past,” he explains. “This monumental activity engages straight pinch wide audiences. It depicts an absurd portrayal of Ukrainian nine successful a continued and unified motion, defending itself from nan extracurricular while protecting its basal antiauthoritarian values."

By introducing a caller ocular connection deliberately detached from ideology, her activity puts nan quality acquisition – nan enactment of coating itself – astatine nan centre,” he adds. 

Back successful nan gallery, Khomenko’s upcoming solo show "Without Distances" presents a broad position of her profession from 2006 to date. It includes useful from nan "Giants and Max successful nan Army" series, and introduces a awesome caller immersive installation titled "Battle successful nan Trench". 

A 30-metre agelong coating shaped for illustration a trench, nan portion invites visitors to locomotion done it earlier stepping up to a pavilion to spot it from supra – blurring nan statement betwixt spectator and participant. 

“The thought came from an imaginary theatre wherever nan nationalist watches nan play only from nan balcony… So first group will locomotion done my installation and past they will spell up to nan pavilion to spot nan activity from above,” Khomenko explains. 

For Khomenko, nan powerfulness of creation – particularly coating – successful wartime lies successful its expertise to provoke thought and deepen empathy. 

“Art is very important for maintaining and processing captious thinking, imagination and attention,” she says. 

The PinchukArtCentre, a awesome unit successful modern creation successful Central and Eastern Europe, continues to support Ukrainian voices done its exhibitions, prizes, and partnerships – including this collaboration pinch Ukrainian Railways. 

As Geldhof tells Euronews Culture: “The Ukrainian Railways and ourselves stock a communal knowing and belief that creation provides a captious domiciled successful keeping a nine nether accent patient and self-critical.” 

"Today, because of nan war, galore group person nary opportunity to sojourn exhibitions, museums, aliases unrecorded an creator life. That is why we want creation to travel to them," CEO of Ukrainian Railways, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, says. "Even if they extremity astatine nan position for conscionable a minute, and spot a activity of creation that makes them reflect, pause, smile, aliases consciousness joyousness that Ukrainian modern creation is live – that fulfils nan mission."

Lesia Khomenko’s solo show opens astatine nan PinchukArtCentre successful Kyiv connected 28 August 2025.