Dates of the exhibition: 21 April - 27 November

Location: Spiazzi, Castello 3865, Venice, Italy 30122

Organizer: Visual Research Support Foundation Charitable Organization

Hours:

• 23 April to 25 September, 11am - 7pm
• 27 September to 27 November, 10am - 6pm

Open to the Public: Tuesday to Sunday

Without Women is a part of the Collateral Events at the 2022 Venice Biennale.

Stemming from extensive ethnographic research and close collaboration with indigenous communities, ZINAIDA's practice revolves around the study of mythologies, national symbols, archaic imagery, and the role of women as carriers of sacred knowledge. Her research journeys in different regions in Ukraine aim to study and preserve cultural heritage. ZINAIDA volunteer initiatives and carries out philanthropic activities in Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. She additionally founded the ARTREHUB volunteer initiative and developed her methodology Red Thread for children with special needs and autism disorders.

As part of the Venice Biennale Collateral Events, ZINAIDA presents the artwork - Without Women - about sheep-breeding, the purity in the nature, and the male energy transformation. Everywhere one looks, you can see practical traditions in action with sheep-breeding mentality among the masses coming through the depth of the modern world attributes. From childhood until they are old enough and have the strength, men leave their dwellings and villages to go to the mountains for five months. Among the abundance of sheep and cows they process milk into butter and cheese. The project Without Women consists of two exhibition sections: a space with video where three projections create a triptych of the living pictures and an installation The Milk of Life, which will remind visitors of the warm scents of women's skin.

In the video presentation, a toned body of a young man, who is immersed in milk to pick up cheese from the cauldron evokes a mythical deity who creates the world. His movements resemble sexual intercourse with a beloved woman, the gauze used for squeezing the whey mimics a veil, while a hazy curtain swayed by the wind appears like a bridal lace dress. In his solitary environment, a man expresses and renews his masculine nature fully and vividly. Balancing between discernable acts of sublimation and poetic portrayal of shepherds as solitary monks, the video narrative is complemented by tactile-olfactory elements within the exhibition space. The "leaking," milk scented screen skin once again bringing awareness to the notions of self-limitation and appealing sincerity.

In curating the exhibition, Without Women, Dallas Contemporary Executive Director Peter Doroshenko has emphasized that "Zinaida is a national cultural figure for Ukraine. Over the last fifteen years, she has summarised, documented and interpreted contemporary Ukrainian society through her work. Zinaida's works have become an important and seminal influence for all contemporary Ukrainian artists."