Ukraine's pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale will feature artist Zhanna Kadyrova's concrete sculpture *Origami Deer*, which was evacuated from Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region as Russian forces advanced in 2024. The pavilion, titled *Security Guarantees*, references the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and will include archival materials and a video installation documenting the sculpture's journey across Europe. The work will be suspended from a crane on a truck along the Venice lagoon, symbolizing forced displacement and the fragility of international promises.
This pavilion matters because it directly confronts the failure of international security guarantees that Ukraine relied on after giving up its nuclear arsenal. By using an artwork that physically experienced evacuation from a war zone, Kadyrova transforms the sculpture into a living document of displacement and survival. The presentation at the Venice Biennale—one of the world's most prestigious art events—amplifies Ukraine's call for the global community to reassess its commitments, using contemporary art as a powerful tool for political testimony and cultural diplomacy.