Key points
- Kyiv Whale was presented simultaneously in Kyiv and Barcelona.
- The sculpture was created from recycled plastic collected by schoolchildren.
- The project draws attention to ecocide and the condition of Ukraine’s water resources.
- Kyiv Whale was selected among the top ten European eco-art projects by PartART4OW.
On World Whale Day, the Ukrainian environmental art project Kyiv Whale Eco Hubs was showcased simultaneously in Kyiv and Barcelona.
The largest sculpture in Ukraine made from recycled plastic – Kyiv Whale – was illuminated once again at the Expocentre of Ukraine (VDNG) in the capital and became the centrepiece of an audiovisual performance dedicated to water security and ecocide.
The sculpture was created from recycled plastic collected by Kyiv schoolchildren in 2021. The updated installation features a new soundtrack composed of the sounds of Kyiv’s rivers.
At the same time in Barcelona, the Kyiv Whale Eco Hubs team presented the project to an international audience in order to bring the issue of ecocide committed by Russia against Ukraine’s environment to the European level.
During the presentation, the project’s author Valerii Korshunov and producer Svitlana Korshunova emphasised the importance of rethinking the impact of the war on water resources, infrastructure and public health. They referred to attacks on critical facilities, the destruction of treatment systems, blackouts and the consequences of the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, which led to large-scale pollution and significant biodiversity losses.
The Kyiv Whale project was selected by the PartART4OW initiative as one of the ten best projects in Europe that highlight key environmental challenges through art and public engagement.
The current state of Ukraine’s water resources is assessed as critically strained. According to environmental experts, following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, tens of thousands of tonnes of pollutants were recorded in bottom sediments, alongside substantial biodiversity losses in the Black Sea and repeated attacks on ports and treatment facilities.
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Kyiv Whale will once again light up at VDNG in the capital to draw attention to water quality in Ukraine
