Ukraine's first Biennale of Contemporary Art kicked off this month at Kyiv’s Mystetskyi Arsenal art center. Staged at a cost of $4.75 million in a space comprising 20,000 square meters, this landmark event features the work of 80 artists from 40 countries. Here's a quick look at some of the artworks renowned curator David Elliot has chosen for the exhibition.
Kyiv's First International Biennale Of Contemporary Art
1
One of the sculptures that features in "Circle of Animals" by the high-profile Chinese artist Ai Weiwei
2
Comprising 12 bronze animal heads "Circle of Animals" has been conceived as a reinterpretation of the Chinese zodiac. It is Weiwei's first major public sculpture project.
3
A visitor walks past "Ash Colour Mountains," an acrylic on canvas by Japanese artist Makoto Aida.
4
Vladimir Lenin features in "Superstars" by Kyrgyz artist Vyacheslav Akhunov, who now lives and works in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
5
Newly elected Russian President Vladimir Putin also features in Akhunov's ironically playful installation.
6
Akhunov makes effective use of old Soviet propaganda in another installation called "Monument to the Match."
7
Osaka-based Japanese artist Yanobe Kenji undoubtedly had some visitors scratching their heads with his offbeat "Minnie the Night." Kenji specializes in pieces that simulate consumer products designed for use after a nuclear holocaust.
8
"Woods IX" by another Japanese artist Shigeo Toya
9
"Shooting" by the Amsterdam-based Dutch artist Folkert de Jong.
10
A detail from the eye-catching Nazi-themed installation "F**king Dinosaurs" by English brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman.
11
Nazi themes and imagery feature regularly in the controversial Chapman Brothers' work.