Dialogues - EuroFestival

Dialogues was a partnership between Bluecoat and Jam Factory Art Center in Lviv. Curator Olena Kasperovych from Ukraine and Bluecoat’s Senior Curator Adam Lewis-Smythe selected two artists to work together in our galleries to create new work, responding to each other and the context of EuroFestival.

Commissioned as part of EuroFestival with Culture Liverpool.

Alevtina Kakhidze is a Ukrainian artist based in Muzychi (Kyiv Oblast), worked alongside Liverpool-based artist Ellie Hoskins.

Kakhidze’s deadpan humour is shared by Ellie Hoskins who uses text, illustration, painting, sculpture and animation to comment on daily life. Both artists developed new work in our galleries throughout the exhibition period, and exhibited large poster works on the exterior of our building on Blundell Lane.

Both artists are incisive in the ways that they wryly critique the world around them. They share an understanding of how important it is to be critical, to observe and understand the world around us and to do this with a sense of mischief, fun and openness.

Alevtina Kakhidze

Kakhidze is best known for her drawings, performances and videos. Her drawings have focused on the war against Ukraine, charting the events and impact of war on her family and neighbours. Kakhidze’s work draws out personal observations and, whilst the subject matter is often of critical importance, she uses humour as a way to understand and analyse the world around her. As a starting point Kakhidze will develop audio work and drawings that she made in 2016 in Liverpool. These works poke fun at the eccentricities of scouse culture and often feature icons of Liverpool such as the Liverbirds and Taro Chiezo’s ubiquitous Superlambanana sculptures.

Ellie Hoskins

Hoskins uses text to express musings on the daily lives of herself and her peer group and often amplifies absurdities of the mundane to comic effect.

Behind the Scenes - Photos by Brian Roberts

Both artists created their work directly in the gallery space. Here's a look at some behind-the-scenes photos of the artists working in the gallery.