Installation "Mickey Mouse's steppe. Archives" is artistic exploration. We have collected an archive of photos of tanks destroyed on the territory of Ukraine, starting from the 1920s.
We found out that more tanks were destroyed within the modern borders of Ukraine (as of 1991) than in any other country in the world. According to the legend of the project, the photos were supplemented with drawings made by a resident of Kharkiv in 2023-2024. According to our plan, these drawings were later found by an archaeological expedition in 2153. The installation
"Mickey Mouse's steppe. Archives" is part of a larger project - the Museum of Human Civilization, which was created in the future after the disappearance of humanity.
Project entered to the collection of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, (Germany) and to the collection of Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography (Ukraine).
Full history of the project:
*Mickey Mouse was a nickname the German military gave to destroyed BT-7 and T-34-76 tanks of the 1942 model during WWII.
In 2153, an archaeological expedition found an archive in the ruins of a building in Kharkiv’s Novobavarskyi district. The archive consists of photographs and a series of drawings.
Tanks are one of the most vivid examples of products of late human civilization. Their build permits us to draw conclusions about the economic state and ambitions of the authorities of different countries. The largest concentration of destroyed tanks in the world was observed on the territory of Ukraine within its 1991 borders. It was this topic that Vladyslav Liubchenko researched, carefully collecting photos. After Liubchenko’s death, the archive was appropriated by Ivan Styhatenko, who in the photos of the tanks saw the creatures he painted until the last days of his life.
Photographs.
Period when the photos were taken: 1919–2022.
Period when the collection was created: 2004–2022.
Photos of tanks were taken on the territory of Ukraine (within the borders of 1991).
The photo archive was collected by Vladyslav Liubchenko (1965–2022).
✶ Born in the town of Lubotyn, from 1984 to 2018 he worked as a mechanic at the Kharkiv Tank Factory. In 1995, he started collecting photos of tanks.
✞ He died on December 21, 2022, in his apartment from a direct hit by an S-300 missile.
A series of drawings based on photographs.
Period when the drawings were created: 2023–2024.
Drawn by: Ivan Styhatenko (1987–2024).
✶ Born in the town of Borova (Kharkiv region). From 2005 to 2007, he served in the military unit number 1302 in the capacity of ‘tank mechanic/driver’. He lived in Kharkiv since 2009. Since 2014, he fought in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. On January 13, 2015, his tank was hit, and he became partially disabled. From 2015 to April 2022, he lived in Borova (Kharkiv region). On April 14, 2022, a tank shell hit the house where he lived, killing his entire family (wife, father and mother); he survived. Since April 19, 2022, he lived in the Novobavarskyi district of Kharkiv. On December 27, 2022, he found a photo archive from the collection of Vladyslav Liubchenko in the rubble of the latter’s house. In February 2023, he started making drawings based on photos from Liubchenko’s archive.
✞ Died of hypothermia on February 12, 2024.
Period when the photos were taken: 1919–2022.
Period when the collection was created: 2004–2022.
Photos of tanks were taken on the territory of Ukraine (within the borders of 1991).
The photo archive was collected by Vladyslav Liubchenko (1965–2022).
✶ Born in the town of Lubotyn, from 1984 to 2018 he worked as a mechanic at the Kharkiv Tank Factory. In 1995, he started collecting photos of tanks.
✞ He died on December 21, 2022, in his apartment from a direct hit by an S-300 missile.
A series of drawings based on photographs.
Period when the drawings were created: 2023–2024.
Drawn by: Ivan Styhatenko (1987–2024).
✶ Born in the town of Borova (Kharkiv region). From 2005 to 2007, he served in the military unit number 1302 in the capacity of ‘tank mechanic/driver’. He lived in Kharkiv since 2009. Since 2014, he fought in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. On January 13, 2015, his tank was hit, and he became partially disabled. From 2015 to April 2022, he lived in Borova (Kharkiv region). On April 14, 2022, a tank shell hit the house where he lived, killing his entire family (wife, father and mother); he survived. Since April 19, 2022, he lived in the Novobavarskyi district of Kharkiv. On December 27, 2022, he found a photo archive from the collection of Vladyslav Liubchenko in the rubble of the latter’s house. In February 2023, he started making drawings based on photos from Liubchenko’s archive.
✞ Died of hypothermia on February 12, 2024.
"Mickey Mouse's Steppe". Lublin, Poland. 2023.
"Mickey Mouse's Steppe". Lublin, Poland. 2023.
"From 1914 till Ukraine". Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany. 2023.
"Mickey Mouse's Steppe". Odesa, Ukraine. 2024.