On July 1, 2014, during the opening of Manifesta 10 in St. Petersburg, in the General Staff Building opposite the Hermitage, Ukrainian artist Maria Kulikovska laid down under the flag of Ukraine on the main entrance stairs. She tried to make a statement against the annexation of Crimea on March 18, 2014, by the Russian Federation with the action | performance '254'. As a refugee from Crimea, she had received registration number 254 in her own country.
For the period of one week, the artist stages this action | performance for the Neue National Galerie in Berlin as part of the Gallery Weekend against the backdrop of Russia's war of aggression against the sovereignty and population of the Ukrainian state.
From the protest of 2014 emerges an intense moment of mourning, reflection, and respect for the dead, injured, refugees, and sufferers of the war.
