Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk. Pedagogies of War

Curated by Chus Martínez

Organized by TBA21 and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
 

Roman Khimei & Yarema Malashchuk’s Pedagogies of War, curated by Chus Martínez, explores how the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine reorganizes perception and public space. Working with Kyiv surveillance footage, the duo, recent recipients of the Curatorial Prize at OFFSCREEN Paris, shows how daily rhythms and democratic structures fracture under violence and material pressures. Their work exposes the fragility of peace, the aesthetics of emergency, and the uneasy coexistence of forgetting and remembering. Pedagogies of War reminds us that ecologies of conflict (political, emotional, territorial) shape identity as forcefully as geographies do.

The exhibition brings together three significant works: the newly commissioned Open World (2025), co-produced by TBA21 for the 36th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts; You Shouldn’t Have to See This (2024), a previous work by the artists; and a new site-specific commission for the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Pedagogies of War: War at Distance (2026). Together, these works create a multi-temporal exploration of war, memory, and agency, examining how states of emergency are aestheticized, how survivors and bystanders become agents, and how repetition can open a space for doubt, empathy, and transformation.

Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk have been working as filmmakers and visual artists since 2016, exploring the intersections of documentary and fiction to engage with Ukraine’s recent history and present. Their work examines the lingering structures of post-imperial power and their impact on a new generation of Ukrainians, caught between historical trauma and an uncertain future. Through multi-channel video installations and cinematic narratives, they capture the fractured nature of reality, where collective memory and personal experience intertwine. The duo’s practice reflects on the role of the extra, the unseen figures of history, and the ways in which individuals navigate shifting political and social landscapes.

They received the main award of the PinchukArtCentre Prize (2020) and the VISIO Young Talent Acquisition Prize (2021). Their recent short film Additional Scenes won the main awards at Tallinn Black Nights IFF 2024 and the Ukrainian Film Critics Award. The duo has participated in the Future Generation Art Prize 2021, Baltic Triennial 14, Gothenburg Biennial, and Kyiv Biennial, as well as group exhibitions at Haus der Kunst, Castello di Rivoli, and Albertinum. They have also presented solo exhibitions at Kunstverein Hannover and Galeria Arsenał, Białystok. Most recently, the Ukrainian art duo have received the Curatorial Prize from the OFFSCREEN Paris art event for their video installation You Shouldn't Have to See This. 

Their video works are part of collections at Fondazione In Between Art Film, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Kontakt, TBA21, Frac Bretagne, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, and Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, among others. Their most recent installation was presented at Dare to Dream, a Collateral Event of the 60th La Biennale di Venezia 2024.

Yarema and Roman are members of the Prykarpattian Theater, an art group that recently established the project Theater of Hopes and Expectations, which was presented at the Ukrainian Pavilion during Venice Biennale Architettura 2023.