The Archipelago of History exhibition brings together the works of artists who document a shift in the relationship of Ukrainian society with its own history. 

It started in the late 2000s, gained momentum after Maidan, but took on an entirely different nature after the outbreak of the full-scale invasion. Understanding that Ukraine’s history is not coherent, consistent, or linear became all the more acute, as it is only empires that have such histories. Other histories have multiple gaps and voids, many levels, layers, and connections. The most important thing is that history cannot be edited; you cannot cast something aside and put something else on a pedestal. You need to be open and sensitive to it — because only then can its ruptures engender new connections and new histories.

This is where the idea of “‘archipelagic thinking,” proposed by the prominent decolonial philosopher from Martinique Edouard Glissant, may prove helpful. He proposed that we perceive history as an archipelago of islands. Every part is like a separate island, a separate world. There are no simple, linear connections between them — instead, there are complex, multi-layered relationships, constant interaction and mutual influence. What is important here is not just historical facts or figures, but also connections between them, sometimes unobvious or unspoken.

The exhibition features three such islands, mapped out with colored islands on the floor. The ‘Big History’ of events and historical figures is brown. The ‘Landscape History’, which tells local stories, the importance of connection to home and its loss, is green. The blue island is the island of ‘Family History’, telling stories that go beyond textbooks.

The exhibition was created on the basis of the Research Platform, which focused on decolonial approaches to art history in Ukraine in 2023–2024.