Skip to content
To WdKA graduates platform
Olha
Maksymenko
You can find me here: –1.C WH

Monoliths

Project details

Year
2024
Programme
Bachelor – Spatial Design
Practices
Commercial Practices
Minor
Contexts & Situatedness

Introduction

This project embodies something hidden deep within my subconscious. It reflects my fear of experiencing war firsthand, as I identify as Ukrainian. It captures moments when time stands still, and everything you once considered important no longer matters. It is about losing hope and finding it again because you must stay strong. It also highlights the ability to see beauty even in the darkest times and emphasizes appreciating your roots, history, and unity more than ever before. Ultimately, it is about accepting reality as it is.

War is always full of contradictions. It is a fight between life and death, love and hate, hope and hopelessness. It inverts reality, highlighting both the best and worst sides of humanity, turning everyone into a bare electrical wire. War brings many insights, one of which is the realization that the world is not what you used to think. I find this awareness frightening. Life becomes divided into ‘before’ and ‘after,’ and reality turns into ‘black’ and ‘white.’ It hardens but also makes your vision and values crystal clear when choosing a side.

This project represents the contradictions of life during the war through architectural objects – a series of memorials. The memorials to the war in Ukraine aim to carry the message of remembrance, providing a safe space for connection and emotional healing.