LYUTYY: Publication display






LYUTYY is a Ukrainian word that has two meanings, both relevant to the context of February 2023, which marks a year since russia’s full-scale barbaric attack on Ukraine;

  1. Noun - February
  2. Adjective - Outraged, angry, furious

SPIRAL collaborated on a display with designers from Studio Culture & Identity in Bremen in order to showcase their publication in the Netherlands. LYUTYY is based on research by 9 artists who traveled to Berlin in order to interact with Ukrainian refugees; hear them out and find out what their subjective experience of fleeing the war in Ukraine is and resultantly what residing in another country feels like in such circumstances.



The designers who worked on this project (Andrii Smirnov, Louisa Clever, Amina Falah, Kim Mayer, Leonie Lindl, Yeunjin Ryu, Mirja Kuberka, Chulgyun Yoo, Xiangyue Jiao) each brought a specific perspective with a particular area they focused on, fusing design, photography, and typography into a physical publication. A folded physical publication serves as a magazine and when unfolded can be used as a poster or an installation. Its design is purposeful either way and aims to raise awareness about the war and sensitize Western society, calling people for action, empathy, and support:

“We, as individuals and artists, must not remain silent on this subject because war is a crime against humanity. It is necessary to report on the realities of russian war against Ukraine in different dimensions: we deal with it both in overarching contexts and individual fates. Because war is about political power and human life at the same time. We take a clear stand against war: Human lives come first.”


On Saturday 11 February,  we had the pleasure to launch the display at De Moeite Waard, right in front of Koffie en Ambacht in Rotterdam. During the opening, our ears were soothed by the sounds provided to us by Plantheads (Tomasz and Leon created a plant-generated ambient live set), while our palates were soothed by uzvar - a national Ukrainian beverage cooked with dried apples, prunes, raisins, and spices.



We mingled, we talked, we had a couple of wines, and most importantly we got to know the artists from the Studio Culture & Identity, who introduced us all to their project and gave their warm thanks for our presence and attention. They shared with us what led them to start it in April 2022 and why it’s so important to them, personally but also as a studio of artists who share the same aim: “to bring awareness to political and social problems through publication design”. The publication, as well as accompanying prints, were (and still are) available at De Moeite Waard.



The next day, on Sunday 12 February, we all gathered for an artist talk. It was a more intimate gathering, accompanied by lovely borscht - a beetroot soup beloved all over Eastern Europe. The students from the Studio Culture & Identity shared with us more details on their process and each of them presented their part of the nine-piece publication. They told us touching stories about the refugees that they worked with in Berlin, and how they personally coped with the reality of war as they curated the content of the publication. They also briefed us on how the display was presented originally in Bremen - the publication was showcased in the central public space of Bremen in October 2022, purposefully open to the widest possible audience. Our discussion was open and vulnerable, and our guests expressed their gratitude for our attention and time, as well as all the help our wonderful creatives provided during the event - again many thanks to everyone there and extra special thanks to Kateryna Skipochka and Freeke van der Sterren who managed to find the time and the space to organize this wonderful event. The artists also shared with us that they are more and more motivated to do further projects and are currently working on an exhibition expanding on the topic of russian colonialism and aggression, as well as their current barbaric attacks on Ukraine.


Make sure to pop by the rest of our events within the LYUTYY display! Stay tuned and grab your own publication at De Moeite Waard - were there until 24th of February.

You can purchase the publication at www.lyutyy.com and at De Moeite Waard, Printroom, and KIOSK.

See you there!

With love,
SPIRAL



photos by Chulgyun Yoon and Freeke van der Sterren