Light on the Waves
A screening programme revisiting the emergence of video art in Odesa in the second half of the 1990s. Early experiments are presented alongside recent works, tracing connections across generations.
Curated by Andrii Siguntsov and presented in partnership with Razom for Ukraine as part of the Ukrainian Culture Festival 2025.
About the project
Light on the Waves traces the emergence of video art in Odesa in the second half of the 1990s, when media technologies began to enter Ukraine’s artistic language. Against a backdrop of social and political transformation, artists sought forms of imagination that challenged the inertia of post-Soviet culture. The Soros Center for Contemporary Art in Odesa, active from 1996 to 2003, provided access to cameras, editing stations and digital tools that made this experimentation possible.
Bodily performance, sound, archival material and diary-like gestures shaped a practice marked by spontaneity and a willingness to test the medium. The programme brings landmark works from this period into dialogue with recent videos by emerging artists, asking how this experimental energy continues and changes across generations.
Curated by Andrii Siguntsov, the screening revisits a formative chapter of Ukrainian contemporary art through the collection and research of the Museum of Odesa Modern Art. It was presented in partnership with Razom for Ukraine as part of the Ukrainian Culture Festival 2025.