Residents of Gdańsk, Poland, can now view “Fracture,” an exhibit of Maidan Monitoring photographs documenting the systematic destruction of Kharkiv by the Russian military. In Poland, the exhibit is presented under the title “Okaleczona. Ukraina” (Ukraine, Mutilated). The Maidan Monitoring Information Center has produced this traveling exhibit in cooperation with Team 4 Ukraine and with financial support from Crown Agents.
Maidan Monitoring photo and video documentarians have visited dozens of sites — residential houses, commercial centers, schools, hospitals, government buildings and historical landmarks in and around Kharkiv — hit by Russian bombs and missiles from March 2022 until February 2023. Our exhibit features the most dramatic and revealing photographs and tells the story of urbicide — a conscious attempt by the Russian government to systematically eradicate the entire city, especially its civilian infrastructure.
The exhibit in Gdańsk is made up of nine panels, mounted on sturdy metal stands. The panels display large-size photographs and captions. Viewers can take a close look at how munition fired by the Russian Federation over the course of the last twelve months has damaged Ukraine’s second largest city. In addition, persons viewing the exhibit are invited to scan the QR code at the top left corner of each panel to obtain additional information — e.g., to check exactly where and when the photographs were taken and to view a high-resolution 360-degree spherical image of the same location on a smartphone.
The exhibit was opened at the Oliwa City Hall of Culture (Gdańsk Oliwa, ul. Opata J. Rybińskiego 25) on February 20, 2023. While the opening event was held indoors due to inclement weather, the exhibit is now available for public viewing in front of the Oliwa City Hall of Culture.
In addition to Senator Bogdan Borusewicz, who initiated the efforts to bring the exhibition to Gdańsk, and the Oliwa City Hall of Culture, which serves as the hosting organization, the exhibit’s Polish co-sponsors include the City of Gdańsk, the Gdańsk Community Foundation, and the Gdańsk Archipelago of Culture. The sponsors of the exhibit wrote in their promotional materials that they wanted this exhibit to not only make the exhibit visitors think of the enormity of destruction, the valiant defense put up by the Ukrainians, their daily struggles against the occupying force and people’s tragedies, large and small, but also to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. “We want to show that we think about them, that we are close by, that we support them, and that we look forward to the day when this bestial war will end.”
The exhibition has its official Facebook event page, which can be used to invite friends to view the exhibit.
The exhibition panels are scheduled to stay at their current location until March 19, 2023. After that date, according to the Office of Senator Bogdan Borusewicz, the whole exhibit will be handed over to Mr. Jarosław Słoma of the Gdańsk – Zaporizhzhia Solidarity Committee. Mr. Słoma also serves as the head of the Ethnic and National Minorities Commission within the Provincial Assembly of the Warmia-Mazury Province (Sejmik Województwa Warmińsko-Mazurskiego).
