Ukrainian airspace closed when Russia launched its full-scale invasion three years ago, turning train travel into a lifeline for the Ukrainian civilians seeking safety within and outside its border. To honor those who remain in the beleaguered country, and those who’ve departed—in more senses than one—artist Barbara Kruger has chosen the exterior of a Ukrainian Railways Intercity train as the latest stage for her graphic installation.
The typographic work, Untitled (Another Again), will be unveiled on May 1, before the passenger train takes its maiden voyage from Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi to Darnytsia Station on the city limit. The eventual route will span Ukraine, with stops including Lviv, Kharkiv, and Kramatorsk, the last of which is in the Donetsk region, and has harbored some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
The project is commissioned by the nonprofit cultural organization RIBBON International in collaboration with Ukrzaliznytsia. According to RIBBON, Kruger’s message will be written only in Ukraine, an intentional choice of the artist.
The American conceptual artist is famous for her pithy, English-text pieces that assail how political machines coerce their subjects with propaganda and consumerism. She grew up in the so-called American golden age of advertising, and her best-known work satirizes the industry’s authoritative voice (and bold style) to make viewers question why we read, hear, and want what we do.
Russia has been accused of disseminating propaganda to further its goals in Ukraine over the course of its invasion. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, Russia has stolen more than 1.7 million pieces of Ukrainian cultural heritage since 2022. Those works, authorities contend, have been leveraged to support Russia’s claim of sovereignty over Ukraine.
In April 2024, the Kherson Art Museum identified 100 works allegedly looted from its collection by Russian forces in a “propaganda video” shot in a Crimea’s Central Museum of Tavrida. The video was reportedly aired on Russian television in September of 2023. The Swiss Economic Ministry announced in a statement on April 22 that, starting Wednesday (April 23), it will join the European Union in sanctioning eight Russian state media outlets.
The text of Kruger’s newly commissioned work reads, in Ukrainian and English, respectively:
“ЩЕ ОДИН ДЕНЬ ЩЕ ОДНА НІЧ ЩЕ ОДНА ТЕМІНЬ ЩЕ ОДНЕ ЗАРЕВО ЩЕ ОДИН ЦІЛУНОК ЩЕ ОДИН БІЙ ЩЕ ОДНА ВТРАТА ЩЕ ОДИН ЗДОБУТОК ЩЕ ОДНЕ БАЖАННЯ ЩЕ ОДИН ГРІХ ЩЕ ОДНА ПОСМІШКА ЩЕ ОДНА СЛЬОЗА ЩЕ ОДНА НАДІЯ ЩЕ ОДИН СТРАХ ЩЕ ОДНА ЛЮБОВ ЩЕ ОДИН РІК ЩЕ ОДНА СУПЕРЕЧКА ЩЕ ОДНЕ ЖИТТЯ”.
“Another day another night another darkness another light another kiss another fight another loss another win another wish another sin another smile another tear another hope another fear another love another year another strife another life”.
