Art Installations as an Artistic Code of the Revolution of Dignity: From Natural Objects to Cultural Memory

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to determine the role of art installations as a component of the visual code of protest culture, their semiotic interpretation, and analysis of their impact on the formation of collective memory of the Revolution of Dignity. The methodological basis of the study is a complex of interdisciplinary approaches that combine the methods of cultural studies, art history, sociology, and semiotics, which allows for a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of art installations of the Revolution of Dignity as a component of the visual culture of protest. The combination of these methods provides a comprehensive study of the phenomenon of art installations of the Revolution of Dignity as an important element of the visual culture of protest and a component of the modern cultural landscape of Ukraine. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive understanding of the art installations of the Revolution of Dignity as a holistic artistic code of protest, which for the first time is considered not only as a set of individual visual objects, but as a systemic phenomenon that shaped the symbolic space of the Maidan and influenced further cultural transformations in Ukraine. Conclusions. The art installations of the Revolution of Dignity appear as a unique phenomenon of modern Ukrainian culture, within which art, protest, and civic self-organisation formed a single symbolic space. They performed aesthetic, communicative, mobilisation, and memorial functions, transforming the Maidan into an open space of co-creation and the formation of meanings. The analysis showed that these objects became important carriers of emotional and historical memory, and their further museumification and documentation contribute to the preservation of the values and experience of the Revolution of Dignity. Thus, the art installations of the Maidan can be considered as a powerful artistic code of protest and a significant component of the formation of the modern cultural landscape and collective memory of Ukrainian society.