“My Account”. Installation at the exhibition The Face of the Eye
The project was realized with the support
of the Yurii Stashkiv Foundation
‘ChervoneChorne’ as part of the
of the a_brucke residency
The project was made possible by the
the support of the Künstlerhof Frohnau
in providing works by
Dieter Ruckhaberle for the exhibition
The Face of the Eye
Group exhibition curated by Vlada Ralko
(Artists: Dieter Ruckhaberle, Yuri Leiderman, Volodymyr Budnikov, Bernhard Vogt, Vlada Ralko)
«Whoever does not break the act of looking sees nothing»
(Cees Nooteboom, The Face of the Eye, 1989)
To witness something with one’s own eyes might seem the ultimate, unassailable proof. He who trusts his vision might believe himself capable of testifying to the truth of an event. And yet, Kierkegaard’s remark comes as a quiet, persistent warning: Truth exists only in so far as the individual produces it himself. Beneath the blazing sun of the obvious, one is easily blinded, for what we call commonplaces are often barren—emptied like pastures overgrazed by cattle. A scrutinizing gaze transforms what is seen into abstraction. Yet, language (be it Ukrainian, English, or otherwise) reminds us that to see is to understand. Indeed, that which threatens our deeply held certainties, we label as unseen or even impossible. This is, in truth, a form of evasion, for what we deem unimaginable is often simply too radical to accept. It compels us to shut our eyes before it can burn itself onto our retina, forever altering the familiar contours of reality. Thus, the act of truly seeing implicates us. One cannot remain a mere witness; to see is to be present, to participate. It demands that we act, or refrain from acting, with both choices exerting their influence. Either we embrace the responsibility of existing within the context of what is seen, or we retreat into the comfort of chosen blindness.
The selected statements of artists, drawn not only from eras of near and distant wars—be they cold or hot—but also from those realms where ethics, politics, and culture coalesce into the sole viable ground for the human gaze, underscore this imperative. Human existence itself is sustained by the retina, that fragile, ever-shifting grid of coordinates that must be renewed time and again. The eye blinks into the abyss of hell, seeking ruptures in the darkness in order to glimpse light. The impatient eye of Orpheus. The helpless blindness of the human creature, where vision contracts into the animal instinct of pursuing a goal. The eye of the black sun. The revelation of an eye turned inward, returning home to itself. Seeing as the risk of love. Gazing as the choice to confront one’s own nature as an individual who produces truth.
Vlada Ralko, Curator of the exhibition
(Translation by Valeriia Plekhotko)
