Abstract

Often paired together as a result of their common heritage/background, the works of the artists addressed within this thesis, Natalka Husar and Taras Polataiko, share little on the surface. While Husar works solely within the realm of painting, Polataiko's works distinguish themselves as being not of one medium, often combining elements of painting, installation and performance within one piece. However, it is beyond this formal superficiality that the similarities reside. Choosing to address the events at Chernobyl, whether directly or indirectly, both artists embark on a quasi-political trajectory, using and manipulating elements of abjection, the narrative, virus, masochism and art history in order to produce "countervisions." These countervisions exist as one facet of the "art of witness", a method by which particular events, such as that of Chernobyl, are visually addressed. Through a dismantling of borders and by providing openings within an otherwise closed discussion, these artists, through their often unacknowledged roles as witnesses, present the viewer with new methods of looking.