You shouldn't have to see this

These were the questions Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei asked themselves as they created You Shouldn’t Have to See This. After a successful showing at the 60th Venice Biennale and elsewhere, the installation will be showcased at the Polish National Opera's Opera Gallery.

The piece zooms in on the few Ukrainian children who have been successfully retrieved from Russian captivity. It is estimated that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, around 200-700 000 children were abducted by Russian authorities. No more than 2,000 have been rescued and returned home.  

The Kyiv-based artistic duo bravely venture beyond the boundary of intimacy to film the rescued children asleep. Watching these innocent, yet deeply traumatised creatures through a camera lens creates a sense of deep connection to their story and provokes questions about our right to peep.

Malashchuk and Khimei balance on the edge of appropriateness, inviting the viewer to live with the discomfort of knowing the exhibition shows only a handful of the children still missing from their homes. The viewer is also made painfully aware of how fragile the children's sleep is, as the majority of them remain in a country overcome by war. ‘Silence allows us to see what usually escapes our attention,’ said the artists about the installation.      

The exhibition runs alongside the world premiere of Maxim Kolomiiets's opera The Mothers of Kherson, whose protagonists take it upon themselves to rescue their abducted children. While clearly reflecting current affairs, the work alludes to the centuries-old myths of Demeter and Persephone and Hecuba and Cassandra, giving the story a universal dimension.  

The combination of visual arts and opera conveys the tragedy of parents and children forced to fight for their fundamental right to be together as a family. This is a story of civilians who had no say in starting the war yet must face its horrific consequences.