EXHIBITION: MARIUPOL. 86 DAYS OF DEFENSE

A Compass that Always Points to Mariupol The M86 project aims to meticulously record the events of the defense of Mariupol and provide a foundation for future studies on the battle for the city. The exhibition's mission is to draw public attention to the plight of Mariupol's defenders, most of whom remain in Russian captivity, thereby advocating for their liberation. By employing memory practices, the project seeks to activate civil society, with the memory of the city's defense serving as a catalyst for ongoing efforts to secure the future of the defenders and Mariupol itself. The architectural task was to create a space for perception and emotional immersion in a chronological narrative. Massive vertical pipes dominate the skyline, evoking the industrial landscape of Mariupol and its last fortress, Azovstal. These industrial pipes, used to form the exhibition space, reflect the chronology of events: shiny metal surfaces represent the beginning, and it ends with black matte pipes symbolizing the destroyed and burnt city. In addition to the chronological stands, the exhibition features five symbolic objects of defense from Mariupol, provided by the military. These objects, deeply connected to the events they represent, possess what Walter Benjamin described as "the aura of things," allowing visitors to feel the closeness and tragic reality of the defense. Stands for these symbolic objects, made from the same black industrial pipes, complete the narrative sequence, standing like ruins of a heroic city. The power of imagination, dreams, and hopes, which fuels the strength of the entire Ukrainian society, surpasses even the aura of war-survived artifacts. To emphasize the direction of our dreams for a free Mariupol, the exhibition space narrows into a wedge shape, always pointing towards Mariupol, no matter where the exhibition is located. This focus of gaze and movement creates a spatial culmination, symbolising the invisible presence of the real city.