Pavlo Kovach's 'Hoc Est Corpus Meum' Exhibition Explores War Through Frontline Materials

Pavlo Kovach presents 'Hoc Est Corpus Meum,' an exhibition examining war's realities through artifacts from the Ukrainian front lines. The artist, currently serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2023, incorporates materials like soldiers' belongings, glass shards from explosions, and military post items. Curated by Paweł Korbus, the show opens on March 20, 2026, with a curatorial tour scheduled for March 21, 2026. Works span periods before and after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, blending minimalist forms with heavy semantic weight. One installation features casts of fallen soldiers' insoles arranged as a map of burial sites, while 'Untitled installation (Bay leaf)' transforms triumph symbols into war loss statistics using casualty notification numbers. The exhibition explores tensions between document and metaphor through installations with soil, water, salt, and wax, alongside performances revealing Kovach's dual identity as soldier and artist. Born in 1987 in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, Kovach graduated from A. Erdeli Uzhhorod Art College (2005) and Lviv National Academy of Arts (2011). He co-founded Efremova26 and Detenpyla galleries in Lviv (both 2013) and helped establish Open Group in 2012, which curated Ukraine's Venice Biennale pavilion in 2019 and represented Poland's pavilion in 2024 under Marta Czyż's curation. A Gaude Polonia scholar (2012), he won MUHi (2012) and IN OUT Festival Gdańsk (2018) awards, with Open Group receiving the PinchukArtCentre Prize (2015) and an Allegro Prize Warsaw Special Mention (2020). The exhibition is part of the 'Art Practices in Wartime' project, functioning as both archive and symbolic monument to violence and memory.