Alevtina Kakhidze, a Ukrainian artist, has arrived at the Bluecoat in Liverpool ahead of the opening of the new exhibition Dialogues there next week, which will run from May 1 through May 14.
Kakhidze will work with Liverpool based artist Ellie Hoskins. Kakhidze is best known for her drawings, performances and videos, which use humour to analyse and understand the world around her. Kakhidze’s recent drawings have focused on the war against Ukraine, charting the impact and effect of war on her family and neighbours.
Hoskins shares Kakhidze’s deadpan humour. She uses text, illustration, painting, sculpture and animation to comment on daily life.
The two artists have begun working alongside each other in the Bluecoat’s gallery to create new work for this exhibition. As well as appearing in the galleries, the artists’ work will also be shown on the outside of the building on Blundell Lane.
Dialogues is part of Culture Liverpool’s EuroFestival, 24 brand new commissions that will transform the city of Liverpool ahead of Eurovision. The exhibition is also a partnership between the Bluecoat and Jam Factory Art Center in Lviv. Entry to the exhibition is free.
Adam Lewis-Smythe, Senior Curator at the Bluecoat, said:
“We feel really privileged to be showing Dialogues as part of the EuroFestival celebrations. I think Liverpool does solidarity really well, and it’s really important to the Bluecoat that we are working with a Ukrainian artist and the Jam Factory, an arts centre in Lviv, to bring Alevtina’s powerful work to Liverpool, alongside that of Ellie Hoskins. Both artists’ work is influenced by their humorous and often critical observations of the world around them and we can’t wait to see the exciting new work that they’ll produce as they work together in our galleries.”
Ellie Hoskins said:
“I was chuffed to be asked to work on this exhibition for Bluecoat. It’s my biggest commission and project to date, and I’ve definitely felt some nerves and anticipation, but those feelings have been matched with equal amounts of excitement and gratitude. Working alongside Alevtina has been really valuable and in the short space of time we’ve had to enter a dialogue with one another, I’ve found myself really inspired and my work has been pushed in a direction that I probably wouldn’t have arrived at on my own. “
Alevtina Kakhidze said:
“I am looking forward to highlighting the differing perceptions of Liverpool and Ukraine in this exhibition. My main purpose is create audio poems on the city of Liverpool, but drawing is my media to start conversation in which I talk about two key creators – vatochnyk (a plant) and tardigrade (a microorganism). These feature heavily in my work for this exhibition and are symbolic of resilience and resistance”.
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