Ukraine war: Wembley exhibition shows 'beauty' of country

The "real beauty of Ukraine and its people" is being showcased in a public art display in north-west London.

Visions of Home is a collection of photographs, installations and digital works by artists from the country.

It forms part of an annual art trail just outside Wembley Stadium, which is visited by millions of people a year.

The exhibition aims to showcase a "resilient and hopeful country", and to keep the war in Ukraine in the public conscience, curators said.

Ukrainian-born artist and photographer Ira Lupu, who curated the exhibition said she was worried the "abundance" of news coverage may have left some people "desensitised and distant to the tragedy" resulting from the conflict.

"My dream is to develop something that opens up the real beauty of Ukraine and its people - a different take to the casual display of Ukrainian bodies we see in the global media," she said.

The display includes a series of photographs capturing people living in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, where 21 people were killed in a Russian missile strike in July.

This collection features a seven-storey high portrait of Anna Domashyna - a Ukrainian woman who stayed in the country to help people in need throughout the conflict - which has been installed on the side of a car park.

A giant digital screen installation has also been erected, urging passers-by to "remember Ukraine". It is displayed across two supersized screens at the entrance to the Wembley Park development, which is hosting the public gallery.

Wembley Park launched its summer art trail in 2020, which it says is part of a year-round arts and culture programme, supporting local and international artists.

"As a curator, it is my honour and duty to enable artists to tell stories, especially about marginalised people and neglected places," Josh McNorton, cultural director of Wembley Park, said.

"News about the war in Ukraine has been ubiquitous for months now, but I hope Wembley Park's summer exhibition showcases a new insight into this resilient and hopeful country. Ukrainian artists have a powerful perspective, and their stories need to be told now more than ever."

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