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The Place to See Before You Die

The Place to See Before You Die
/5
    • The Place to See Before You Die
  • 2024
  • video, color, sound
  • 5min, 23sec
“The Place to See Before You Die” was shot amidst Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine and is staged like a promotional video for a tourist destination. The place in question is the artist’s hometown of Kharkiv—which is under constant attack and hence one of the most dangerous places to live in Ukraine. As if representing a travel agency, this video’s protagonist—the gender-neutral Dirty White Victim and Fool—attempts to promote an apartment in a dilapidated and half-destroyed building that might soon turn into a tomb for its inhabitants. The featured character had already appeared in a previous work by Kleytman from 2022. Thus referencing the history of dirty white (male) aggression, the artist highlights how war and terror have never ended despite numerous political attempts to put a stop to such catastrophic occurrences. W.S.