Alevtina Kakhidze - Learning History Through Art

Driven by her great interest in the relationship between plants and humans, Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze invites audiences/students to the workshop Follow the Plants. In an introductory lecture, she provides insight into her research on stable plant systems such as steppes and prairies. In this context, she investigates the influence of ‘invasive’ and ‘tender’ plants on ecosystems and the role of humans therein from an artistic-philosophical perspective. There follows a practical training during which the participants explore the local ecosystems of North America together. In 2021 Alevtina Kakhidze came in the US espessially to research plant systems of Kansas - www.cecartslink.org/participa...
In her works, the multidisciplinary Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze critically examines socio-political changes and issues of her own country - Ukraine. Having grown up in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, known for coal mining, she has experienced Ukraine’s abrupt and chaotic changes from the days of the USSR to the imbalanced environment after, including undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine that it is going on today. In 2013, she actively participated in the Maidan protests. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, she decided to exhibit her work “Method of Constructing a Political Truth” at Manifesta 10 in St. Petersburg despite the calls for a boycott. Since then, Russia’s war against Ukraine has been the main focus of her work. She remained in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion in 2022 and now describes the everyday impact of war to people who live in peace. For her public lecture at the Jordan Center, she will explore the themes and the contradictions such as consumer behavior, ecology, feminism and life in war zones.