Stefaniia Bodnia

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

In her Open Letter, Stefaniia reflects on moments when time slips, fractures, and allows ghosts to surface. Set in Times, the work draws on a metaphor inspired by Nothing bad has ever happened by Victoria Amelina—the Ukrainian writer and researcher who was killed in a Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk, in the region the artist calls home. In Amelina’s book, ghosts embody unresolved trauma and the persistent presence of the past. Through this reference, Stefaniia’s poem touches on the disorienting temporality of conflict, where language falters and history haunts the present.

Collboration with Jack Dove

Collboration with Jack Dove

Aluminium conceals time, voices and histories. It’s one of the most widely used materials in infrastructure, but also in military and ammo. We took melting as the main methodology to reshape the narrative and bring material to the new action. @stefabodnia developed lettering based on the properties of the material, using ligatures to connect all the letters formed by the process. We used aluminium scrap power cables for the production of the casting piece. In Ukraine, where there is only three hours of electricity per day, these cables play a crucial role in establishing connections.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

The type design reflecting on the liquid material forms of language.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

In collaboration with Jack Dove. Like the layers of sediment peeled back during precious metal and mineral mining, war operations leave behind a perforated landscape, resulting in a porous structure with voids and encapsulated spaces within the layers of the land. Bodnia and Dove draw parallels between personal trauma and geotrauma, where the layers of geological formations intersect with vectors of power, embodying the violence of extractive practices and war. The imagery combines satellite views of the mining area in eastern Ukraine, where military operations take place above and below ground; engravings of mineral porosity, and performative drawings of landscape. These layers reveal the vertical continuum connecting the subterranean and the digital realms, linking mines to the cloud. The project gives a voice to materials, including minerals, land, non-human entities and human labour. All of these are seen as resources for the operations of power. Synthesized sounds and processed samples are constructed to move and distort the metal, placing reconstructions of unspoken memory into the steel while metal plates and sculptural elements are transformed into resonant instruments, allowing matter to speak.

Publication. Texts and horse leg wax casting by Alexandra

The book explores the history of mining and industrialisation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. It draws on a rich collection of images and documents sourced from Belgian and Ukrainian archives, including paintings, drawings, and grassroots photography. Among the featured works are Nikolay Kasatkin’s 1880s paintings of Donbas coal mining, which vividly portray the industrial transformation and the hidden, subterranean world where mining takes place, beyond the reach of human vision. Kasatkin paints the picture black, withholding the vision of the industrial workforce and political decisions. In this publication, the invisible voices of those reduced to mere material are brought to light, using my body as a narrative tool. Through a combination of poetry and charcoal drawings, the body is portrayed as more than just a resource, with the narrative unfolding as a piece of charcoal gradually exhausted across the pages.

The multi-faceted research project provides insight into the poignant landscape of war-affected south-eastern Ukraine and sets out to theorise the complicity of resources as participants that influence and register instances of (geo-political) conflict. The project focuses on industrial colonisation of Donbas region in Ukraine through the lens of visual technologies such as drone and satellite imagery, adding a new layer of understanding in a wartime context.
The left image is a charcoal drawing of a landscape, while the right one is satellite footage of the Kreminna Mine, a mining area in the Donbas region, provided by a friend working for Ukrainian Intelligence. The satellite image was made to investigate activities on the land. This juxtaposition imprinted with charcoal ink highlights the material relationship between the human body, mined material, and geopolitics merging in one landscape.

The multi-faceted research project provides insight into the poignant landscape of war-affected south-eastern Ukraine and sets out to theorise the complicity of resources as participants that influence and register instances of (geo-political) conflict. The project focuses on industrial colonisation of Donbas region in Ukraine through the lens of visual technologies such as drone and satellite imagery, adding a new layer of understanding in a wartime context.
The left image is a charcoal drawing of a landscape, while the right one is satellite footage of the Kreminna Mine, a mining area in the Donbas region, provided by a friend working for Ukrainian Intelligence. The satellite image was made to investigate activities on the land. This juxtaposition imprinted with charcoal ink highlights the material relationship between the human body, mined material, and geopolitics merging in one landscape.

The book explores the history of mining and industrialisation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. It draws on a rich collection of images and documents sourced from Belgian and Ukrainian archives, including paintings, drawings, and grassroots photography. Among the featured works are Nikolay Kasatkin’s 1880s paintings of Donbas coal mining, which vividly portray the industrial transformation and the hidden, subterranean world where mining takes place, beyond the reach of human vision. Kasatkin paints the picture black, withholding the vision of the industrial workforce and political decisions.

When a historical moment falls apart – into something unforeseen, something disparate, something intricate – we witness a divergence in the flow of time. The present starts to flicker, exposing and bursting the seams of reality. The gravity of the moment takes over entirely. Time becomes a fossil, an enduring and persistent ‘now’. The poster project for "A Time in Pieces" encapsulates its concept through the deliberate glitch of a riso printer, with the ink impressions of a misprint on paper scanned and composed into a visual narrative across 12 A1 posters. Framed by three arrows breaking away from their circular path, the design symbolises disruption. The use of Times font further enhances the poster's timeless quality.

Metal wires and knots serve as symbols of transformation and resistance amidst the chaos of an ongoing war. As they morph into various shapes, merge and take on different configurations for each exhibition held in different European cities, they parallel the evolving nature of the Biennale itself. Kyiv Perennial's poster weaves together disparate impressions, creating a seamless tapestry of shared artistic manifestation, strength and resilience expressed in the metal knots.

The book explores the history of mining and industrialisation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. It draws on a rich collection of images and documents sourced from Belgian and Ukrainian archives, including paintings, drawings, and grassroots photography. Among the featured works are Nikolay Kasatkin’s 1880s paintings of Donbas coal mining, which vividly portray the industrial transformation and the hidden, subterranean world where mining takes place, beyond the reach of human vision. Kasatkin paints the picture black, withholding the vision of the industrial workforce and political decisions.

The book explores the history of mining and industrialisation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. It draws on a rich collection of images and documents sourced from Belgian and Ukrainian archives, including paintings, drawings, and grassroots photography. Among the featured works are Nikolay Kasatkin’s 1880s paintings of Donbas coal mining, which vividly portray the industrial transformation and the hidden, subterranean world where mining takes place, beyond the reach of human vision. Kasatkin paints the picture black, withholding the vision of the industrial workforce and political decisions.

Pochen Biennale 2024, Chemnitz

In collaboration with Alexandra Hunts

The publication, “Coal Mine, Land Mine, the Body of Mine”, is a personal and poetic reflection on Ukrainian identity, history, ecology and embodied memory, set in the context of Eastern Ukraine, my home region. Through poetic storytelling and experimental printmaking, it aims to raise awareness of and encourage critical rethinking of imperial narratives in Europe and current Russo-Ukrainian war. It highlights the connection between personal tragedy and global politics by juxtaposing images from European archives depicting the industrialisation of Eastern Ukraine in the 20th century and personal narratives in the form of drawings and poems

The publication, “Coal Mine, Land Mine, the Body of Mine”, is a personal and poetic reflection on Ukrainian identity, history, ecology and embodied memory, set in the context of Eastern Ukraine, my home region. Through poetic storytelling and experimental printmaking, it aims to raise awareness of and encourage critical rethinking of imperial narratives in Europe and current Russo-Ukrainian war. It highlights the connection between personal tragedy and global politics by juxtaposing images from European archives depicting the industrialisation of Eastern Ukraine in the 20th century and personal narratives in the form of drawings and poems

Project explores the multifaceted history and evolving significance of neon gas. Highlighting neon's journey from its natural abundance in the universe to its pivotal role in scientific advancements and geopolitical shifts, the work juxtaposes its past and present uses. Initially invisible, neon gas glows red when electrified, a phenomenon that found commercial appeal in advertising signs in the West. Central to the piece are ten illuminated electrons, representing neon's atomic structure, set against a backdrop steel structure of a found window grille from the turbulent 90’s in Ukraine and serves as a metaphor for the era's industrial and political upheaval. The Soviet Union's Cold War investments in neon gas for space-bound laser weapons left a legacy that extends into today's high-tech industries and shaped Ukrainian landscape. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted nearly half of the global neon supply by shutting down major production plants in Odessa and Mariupol, underscores the fragility of these interconnected systems. The work tries to encapsulates the shift of neon's purpose—from a tool of military ambition to a cornerstone of semiconductor manufacturing—while inviting viewers to ponder the ethical complexities of technological progress and its enduring impact on our world. Through these contrasts, the project prompts reflection on the lasting impacts of Soviet industrialization, ecological damage, and the complex ethical considerations entwined with scientific progress and political change.

As part of the visual communication for Kyiv Biennial '23, a series of posters was developed in collaboration with Aliona Ciobanu for exhibitions held in Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Uzhhorod, Warsaw, Lublin, Antwerp, and Vienna. Metal wires and knots serve as symbols of transformation and resistance amidst the chaos of an ongoing war. As they morph into various shapes, merge and take on different configurations for each exhibition held in different European cities, they parallel the evolving nature of the Biennale itself. Kyiv Biennial's visual communication weaves together disparate impressions, creating a seamless tapestry of shared artistic manifestation, strength and resilience expressed in the metal knots.

Metal wires and knots serve as symbols of transformation and resistance amidst the chaos of an ongoing war. As they morph into various shapes, merge and take on different configurations for each exhibition held in different European cities, they parallel the evolving nature of the Biennale itself. Kyiv Perennial's poster weaves together disparate impressions, creating a seamless tapestry of shared artistic manifestation, strength and resilience expressed in the metal knots.

Polyester Palace is using the topic of bed as a lens to explore a topic of labor. By focusing on the use of a soft object like a polyester mattress, the publication is able to offer insights into the ways in which our relationship with work and leisure is evolving in the 21st century.

From a series of drawings reflecting the experience of fleeing.

The content of the poster appears to feature symbols, protective amulets collected from the fences of villages in Ukraine.

The content of the poster appears to feature symbols, protective amulets collected from the fences of villages in Ukraine.

Polyester Palace is using the topic of bed as a lens to explore a topic of labor. By focusing on the use of a soft object like a polyester mattress, the publication is able to offer insights into the ways in which our relationship with work and leisure is evolving in the 21st century.

This publication is a revival of Behind the State Capitol or Cinnaty Pike by queer american poet John Wienners. This book is based on its expirience, an examination of the medium of the poem, rhythm, white space, acoustic characteristics of the words on the paper reproduced in two interpretations: Wieners’ and the editor’s. The paired images hidden in the French folding feel rough, layering the original and the interpretation. Light and heavier, greyish types of paper alternate in different rhythms and voices of the content. The repetitive comparison of authentic and experienced poetry directs the dynamic of linear narration of two voices throughout the book.

This publication is a revival of Behind the State Capitol or Cinnaty Pike by queer american poet John Wienners. This book is based on its expirience, an examination of the medium of the poem, rhythm, white space, acoustic characteristics of the words on the paper reproduced in two interpretations: Wieners’ and the editor’s. The paired images hidden in the French folding feel rough, layering the original and the interpretation. Light and heavier, greyish types of paper alternate in different rhythms and voices of the content. The repetitive comparison of authentic and experienced poetry directs the dynamic of linear narration of two voices throughout the book.

“Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language“. While the book is primarily focused on the production of meaning through language, it also touches on other aspects of semiotics, such as the role of visual images in shaping our understanding of the world.

“Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language“. While the book is primarily focused on the production of meaning through language, it also touches on other aspects of semiotics, such as the role of visual images in shaping our understanding of the world.