Lesia Vasylchenko: YesterLight – Sensing Ruptures of Time

At the Schinkel Pavilion, Ukrainian artist Lesia Vasylchenko explores the politics of time in an era marked by war, technological acceleration, and ecological crisis.

– Chronosphere, 2024, video still. Chronoesthetic Rupture, 2026

With “YesterLight – Sensing Ruptures of Time,” the Schinkel Pavillon presents the first German institutional solo exhibition by Ukrainian artist Lesia Vasylchenko (born 1990). In multimedia works, the Kyiv-born artist explores how current conflicts are changing not only territories but also perception itself.

How is our understanding of time changing in a present in which the world is collapsing at hyper speed?

Lesia Vasylchenko belongs to a generation that grew up in an independent Ukraine after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Since 2014, her homeland has faced continuous Russian attacks, which escalated into an ongoing, full-scale invasion in 2022. The ongoing war in Ukraine has shifted the boundaries of how reality is documented. Destruction unfolds faster than it can be recorded; threats materialize before they are visible; consequences extend far beyond what a single moment can show. 

In the context of war, seeing is no longer possible where landscapes are obliterated and where visibility itself collapses under destruction. Satellites, sensors, and algorithms form an expanded sensorium in which technical recording often bypasses human perception. Vasylchenko's artistic work is deeply influenced by these seismic technopolitical shifts.

In the context of war, seeing is no longer possible where landscapes are obliterated and visibility itself collapses under the destruction. Satellites, sensors, and algorithms form an expanded sensorium in which technical recording often bypasses human perception. Vasylchenko's artistic work is deeply influenced by these seismic technopolitical shifts and the resulting fractured reality and perception of time.

Runtime: Fri, 13/03/2026 to Sun, 31/05/2026

Takes place here:

• Schinkel Pavillon