Set in a village in southern Ukraine, Re-Building Ruins in Reverse is a five-chapter film which documents the construction of an installation in a public space. The bricks used come from a former Khrushchyovka, a typical 1960s Soviet Union building made with low-cost materials. Sculptures grow from architectural vestiges. A voiceover links the socialist principles of common life with the consequences of political upheavals resulting from the privatization of Soviet infrastructure and the construction of new structures from remains of the past. The reuse and recontextualization of building materials generate reflections on possible future scenarios built from vestigial memories of the past.

 

Olena Newkryta (Ukraine/Austria, 1990) has received several prizes and grants, such as START-scholarship of the Federal Ministry for Culture, Grant of the Federal Ministry for Science, Award of the Kunsthalle Vienna. Her works have been presented at numerous exhibitions and screenings, including Kunstforum Vienna, Kunsthalle Vienna, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Fotogalerie Vienna, Musrara Mix Festival Jerusalem, Crossing Europe Filmfestival, Blickle Kino Vienna.