KYIV – VENICE: Nordic countries pavilion in dialogue with Anatoliy Tverdy, Nelli Isupova

Mythical Connections

https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/6785066/klara-kristalova-benjamin-orlow-tori-wr-neshow-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head-of-a-pin

https://www.gallerimagnuskarlsson.com/news/383-klara-kristalova-at-the-61st-international-art-exhibition-how-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head/

https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2026/nordic-countries-finland-norway-sweden

In the Nordic Countries Pavilion at this year’s Biennale, mythology becomes a way of imagining the world as a single interconnected ecosystem, where human, plant, and animal life do not exist separately but remain in a state of continuous interaction and transformation. The hybrid beings of Klara Kristalova, the monumental sculptures of Benjamin Orlow, and the spatial interventions of Tori Wrånes create an environment in which architecture, nature, and art merge into a single organism. Myth emerges as a means of understanding the contemporary world, its ecological fragility, and the interdependence of all forms of life.

The works of Nelli Isupova and Anatolii Tverdy likewise form their own mythological system, though one that arises not from the reconstruction of specific narratives but from the direct artistic creation of new images. Isupova’s ceramic creatures exist beyond clear species definitions, combining human, animal, and imaginary features. Tverdy’s installation extends this principle into space, transforming a natural motif into an autonomous mythological landscape. The Ukrainian artists demonstrate how mythological thinking continues to emerge within contemporary artistic practice as a living system of image-making, capable of creating new forms of coexistence between humanity, nature, and imagination.