#EuromaidanYYC

Exhibition Details

The protestors organized themselves through popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and the entire movement soon took on the name of its Twitter hashtag, Euro Maidan.

Photographer and filmmaker Tomas Rafa works on the boundaries between patriotism and nationalism. His work focuses on multiculturalism, xenophobia, extremism and neofascism situated against the background of everyday life.  #euromaidanYYC shows both pro-Russian and pro-European manifestations in Ukraine.

Citizens who want their country to align more closely to Europe championed the Maidan Square protests. The Siege of Sloviansk was a pro-Russian retaliation by citizens who want the country to have stronger ties to Russia.

Rafa’s documentation shows a cinematic quality to this unrest. In his photographs, the average Ukrainian citizen takes on the role of hero in his or her own life featured within the pictorial backdrop of both Maidan (or Independence) Square and Sloviansk in East Ukraine.

Curated by Lindsey V. Sharman