2025

Installation.
Materials: paper / blind embossing, nails.

The installation was created specifically for the exhibition project Hryvnia. More Than Money, initiated by the National Bank of Ukraine in collaboration with the National Centre “Ukrainskyi Dim.” The exhibition explores the national currency as a multidimensional phenomenon within the history and culture of Ukraine.

Project curators: Tetiana Voloshyna, Alisa Hryshanova, Oleksii Ananov.

The work is composed of paper impressions taken from architectural details, everyday objects, and medieval Ukrainian coins, as well as from systems of symbols that represent the identity of that period. The installation incorporates artifacts preserved through the efforts of Lviv-based collectors. It is assembled from fragments of history that for a long time remained in the shadows—events and material testimonies severed from our evolutionary continuity. Most of these objects have not entered contemporary visual circulation: the remnants of medieval cities are today largely concealed underground, beneath layers of later historical epochs. This is a material world that is almost impossible to physically access.
At the same time, owing to the persistence of researchers and collectors, unique specimens have been discovered and preserved—cultural markers that testify to Ukrainian distinctiveness. Among them are rare coins minted by the Lviv Mint.

Research and artifact collection continued over a two-month period. Part of the materials originates from private collections of ceramics, metal objects, and numismatics. Particular attention was given to the ceramic collection of Petro Linynskyi, now held in the collections of the Museum of Ethnography in Lviv. During his archaeological surveys, Linynskyi uncovered material evidence of history, devoting significant effort to locating historical sites, identifying ceramic fragments, conserving them, and reconstructing ornamental motifs. In collaboration with the museum, I produced precise replicas of selected examples of medieval ceramics, which later served as the basis for the paper modules of the installation.

For the first time, detailed sculptural replicas and surface duplicates were created for certain artifacts, taking into account their value and fragile condition. The paper impressions combine textures taken from preserved objects of medieval architecture with manually reconstructed reliefs of material culture objects.


About the project Hryvnia. More Than Money.

Each exhibit in the exhibition possesses its own character and artistic value, and all are presented together for the first time within a single exhibition space. Historical facts about the hryvnia are interwoven here with profound socio-philosophical reflections. In addition, the project offers the most comprehensive overview of the evolution of Ukrainian money—a chronological narrative tracing its development from antiquity to the present day. A separate exhibition space is dedicated to the creation of the modern hryvnia, from the initial concept to the final stage of printing.
The exhibition also brings together archival documents, unique artifacts, and works of art by both historical and contemporary artists. Among the presented materials are sketches of Ukrainian banknotes created by prominent artists, including Oleksandr Bohomazov, Heorhii Narbut, Vasyl Krychevskyi, Mykhailo Boichuk, Myron Yatsiv, and Vasyl Lopata.

The exhibition is open from March 28 to May 11, 2025, at the National Centre “Ukrainskyi Dim,” 2 Khreshchatyk Street, Kyiv.

The project was realized in collaboration with the Money Museum of the National Bank of Ukraine: Director Denys Tolochko, Chief Curator of Collections Andrii Boiko-Haharin.

Photo: Olha Kuzyura and Ihor Okunevsky for Ukrainskyi Dim