The exhibition premiered in 2013 and since then residents of twenty Ukrainian cities have been able to see it. It is being exhibited abroad for the first time. The question inevitably arises: what might a satirical image of Ukrainian social order hold of interest specifically for Czech viewers?
To answer this question, Radio Prague turned to Professor Petr Drulák, Secretary for Political Affairs to the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs and patron of the exhibition in the Czech Republic.
“I think this exhibition is interesting because it demonstrates the European orientation of Ukrainian civil society. This is a distinctive sign of Ukrainian politics, which is also clearly evident in the social changes we have observed in recent years in Ukraine. All of this is presented with humor, in the form of caricature, which may be especially interesting for Czech visitors and could to some extent help open doors to the Czech Republic,” believes Petr Drulák.
The exhibition is a collection of thematic satirical drawings focusing on typical problems of Ukrainian society. The caricaturists depict the extent of corruption and bureaucracy, the state of the judiciary in the country, and the eternally crumbling Ukrainian roads. Among the less mundane topics are air purity, the quality of medical care, or the difficulties faced by women who aspire to high public office.
Everything is known in comparison – apparently, the authors were guided by this proverb, depicting Ukraine in one part of each drawing and Europe in the other. The caricatures themselves bring a smile to one's face, but the facts cited below are sometimes astonishing.
For example, we learn that 93.9 percent of Ukrainians believe that judges in the country are corrupt, and by 2014, 13,635 complaints against the Ukrainian judiciary had been filed with the European Court of Human Rights. Here's another fact: only 18 percent of Ukrainian citizens (as of 2013) are satisfied with the level of healthcare in the country, which is comparable to the situation in Yemen, while in Austria, Germany, or Sweden this figure exceeds 90 percent.
European countries certainly come out ahead in such comparisons. Is it not arrogant on our part to present ourselves – even through Ukrainian caricaturists – in such a flattering light?
“I would not speak of arrogance,” says the high-ranking Czech diplomat. “Ukrainians have their own European dream, which is expressed in these caricatures. If we look in detail at how Ukrainian artists see Ukraine and Europe, I think we will often recognize ourselves and the orders that once prevailed here. In many situations, the Ukrainian reality will seem more familiar to us than the European one. What lesson can we draw from this for ourselves? Mainly, we can again realize how attractive the European project is for those who are not in the European Union.”
Eva Turečková.
Photo by the author.