Chto Delat's 'Canary Archives' Responds to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine with New Artistic Language
In April 2022, the Russian group Chto Delat unveiled 'Canary Archives,' a four-channel video installation and newspaper project that began in 2020, commissioned by Berlin's Haus der Kulturen der Welt for the exhibition 'The Whole Life. Archives & Imaginaries.' Originally centered on the documents of Georgij Plekhanov, the project evolved due to the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing ecological concerns influenced by Kurt Vonnegut's idea of artists serving as early warning systems. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the collective shifted away from conventional approaches, opting for personal monologues on war and disaster. Following its debut, the installation was showcased in Berlin, Sweden, Belgrade, and Sarajevo. Founded in 2003, Chto Delat faced political exile in the fall of 2022.
Key facts
- Chto Delat produced 'Canary Archives' in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022
- The work includes a four-channel video installation and a newspaper issue
- It was initially commissioned in 2020 by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin
- The collective abandoned their typical Brechtian songspiel methods and Aesopian language
- All nine founding members appear as performers in intimate monologues
- Exhibitions occurred at HKW Berlin (April 2022), KOW Berlin (July 2022), Skövde Konstmuseum Sweden (October 2022)
- Public screenings were held in Belgrade (December 2022) and Sarajevo (January 2023)
- The project uses the metaphor of canaries in coal mines, inspired by Kurt Vonnegut
Entities
Artists
- Chto Delat
- Olga Egorova Tsaplya
- Nina Gasteva
- Artemy Magun
- Nikolay Oleynikov
- Alexey Penzin
- Natalia Pershina Glucklya
- Alexander Skidan
- Oxana Timofeeva
- Dmitry Vilensky
- Bertolt Brecht
- Kurt Weill
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Hito Steyerl
- Franz Kafka
- Susan Sontag
- Yulia Tikhomirova
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Georgij Plekhanov
- Vladimir Putin
- Ladislav Zajac
- Alexander Koch
- The Party Of Dead
Institutions
- Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW)
- KOW Berlin
- Skövde Konstmuseum
- Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
- Archiv der Avantgarden (AdA)
- Plekhanov's House
- State University of St. Petersburg
- Fine Arts Academy of Bologna
- University of Bologna
- TIST – This Is So Temporary
- ARTMargins Online
- The New Yorker
- University Press of Mississippi
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- St. Petersburg
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Sweden
- Belgrade
- Sarajevo
- Bologna
- Italy
- Dresden
- Jackson, Mississippi
- United States
- Greece