Andrii DOSTLIEV & Lia DOSTLIEVA
Licking War Wounds, 2016–2021

digital photograph; dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artists
© Andrii Dostliev & Lia Dostlieva

Lia Dostlieva and Andrii Dostliev’s collaborative works focus on issues of trauma, memory and representation. Their work Licking War Wounds is a performative piece that takes place over 240 weeks. The photo series shows a – gradually disappearing – salt lamp from a souvenir shop in Bakhmut. Famous for its salt mines, the town in eastern Ukraine, was invaded by separatists (DPR) in 2014, but was successfully retaken by the Ukrainian army within a short time. Unusual tank-shaped salt lamps appeared in the city’s shops after the liberation. Such decorative objects had always been an important part of the local souvenir industry, but after the attack, the objects designed to emit a warm glow for a pleasant mood took the form of a robust military vehicle. In their revealing work, the artists show that these objects are only small signs of the severe traumatisation of an entire society, caused by war to this day. Dealing with trauma is a very complex process that can take years, decades or even a lifetime. Forced to leave Donetsk because of the war, for five years, Dostliev and Dostlieva continued to lick the lamp, which symbolised the wounds made by the war, recording its changing condition day after day. “In July 2021, we have finished this project. Hoping that the war would also end soon giving all of us the chance to finally lick our wounds. But instead, on February 24th, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. And all art suddenly became futile in the face of bombs falling onto peaceful Ukrainian cities.” (Andrii Dostlieva & Lia Dostliev)

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