Open Group

How can the horrors of war be conveyed in an empathetic way, yet without presenting images of annihilated cities and mutilated bodies?

In their karaoke-inspired video installation Repeat After Me, Ukrainian artist collective Open Group invites civilians fleeing Russia’s unlawful war of aggression against Ukraine to perform in front of their cameras. The civilians mimic the sounds of missiles, artillery shells and other weapons, and then ask visitors to repeat the same sounds after them.

Memories of violence, the trauma of being bombed, and the urgency of survival are thus imparted in a very tangible way to visitors who have never experienced the horrors of war.

In this book, Serlachius Museum Director Pauli Sivonen discusses Open Group’s installation with Ukrainian art historian and curator Olga Tykhonova.