Stateless Nation

title:	Stateless Nation
year:	2025
dimensions:	300/260 cm
technique:	Wood, bronze casting, patinated copper

description:

The project concept is the result of my interests and studies in history. I am interested in Polish-Ukrainian relations from 1929 to 1947, and the attempts to create an independent Ukrainian state during that period, unfortunately through extreme means. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, established in 1929, was radically nationalist; its primary goal was to fight for a greater independent Ukraine, to achieve an independent state at any cost. The Ukrainian nationalist movement was hostile towards Poles from the outset. From 1941 to 1944, Volhynia became the site of the OUNB's consistent criminal activity, aimed at eliminating the Polish population from these areas. Subsequently, in 1944, the OUN-UPA's anti-Polish activities also spread to Eastern Galicia. These activities took the form of mass massacres using large UPA forces, aided by the local Ukrainian population, which decimated the rural population. In the context of this project, I am interested in the structure and organization of the OUN-UPA in Poland during World War II. These areas lay west of the Curzon Line, claimed by Ukrainian nationalists.

The large-scale sculptural form resembles a unique map of these territories. The object is made of scale wood, a three-dimensional form clad in copper sheet. The 10 bronze objects, featuring a male clenched fist motif, are a reference to partisan movements (including the OUN-UPA and the Croatian Ustasha). It is a decidedly critical commentary on war, violence, extreme nationalist movements, and a kind of Lebensraum justification for territorial expansion.

website implementation: Brandrei.com