2018 eng

2018 was a defining year in the development of “Borderland Space”, marking the transition to a format based on curatorial groups. The theme of the year—“The Horizon Formula”—was considered not only as a visual phenomenon but also as a metaphor for the boundary between the known and the unknown, the visible and the hidden, spatial orientation and cognition.

For the first time, a model was introduced in which several curators—Nataliia Matsenko, Yurii Vyshniakov, Kostiantyn Zorkin, Pavlo Kovach, Oleksii Konoshenko, Vitalii Kokhan, and Yurii Shtaida—led separate groups of participants who worked on their tasks within the framework of a shared theme. This approach combined horizontal organisation with decentralised creative processes.

Artists explored the horizon as a spatial, conceptual, and symbolic category. The integration of site-specific practices with the study of the local landscape became important: Open Group created an intervention engaging with the visible and invisible boundaries of the field of vision, while De Ne De launched a project combining social gestures and landscape elements, conceptualising the idea of “common (public) space”.

Collective actions acquired new significance: whereas in the early symposia they focused on joint material production, now discussions, theorising, and the exchange of ideas took centre stage. The work “Studies for Landscape” became a symbol of this shift, built on joint hikes, discussions, and contemplation, where the primary outcome was the experience of co-presence and shared reflection.

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