Palianytsia

Zhanna Kadyrova – Palianytsia
2022. Found river stone. Variable dimensions.

Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Continua. Photo: Ivan Sautkin

Before the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine began, Kadyrova lived and worked in Kiev and then fled with her family to the western part of the country. The Palianytsia project was created in the Transcarpathian region, where Kadyrova has been staying since then. Palianytsia is the name of a Ukrainian round wheat bread that Russian occupiers cannot pronounce correctly and therefore acts as a password or recognition mark among Ukrainians. During her days-long search for accommodation and a workshop, Kadyrova found round stones polished by the current in a river. As a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance, she recreated illusory sculptures of sliced loaves of bread out of these stones. [read more]