Mykola Bondarenko
"Ukraina 1933: Kulinarna knyha" ("Ukraine 1933: A Cookbook")
In his series of 77 linocuts entitled “Ukraine 1933: A Cookbook”, the Ukrainian artist Mykola Bondarenko presents a very different and distinctive depiction of the horrors faced by the victims of the Holodomor. Instead of scenes of suffering and death, he presents the various plants and animals that people were forced to eat in order to survive.These are depicted in stark black and white lines set against a black cross shape (simultaneously recalling both the Christian Cross and a windowpane), and each one is accompanied by a short text identifying the plant or animal and describing how it was prepared for consumption.
"Corn"
Bare cobs of corn (without the kernels) were ground, put through a sieve, mixed with ground or crushed leaves of trees and water and milk (if there was any), and made into flatbreads.Cornstalks were dried, ground, put through a sieve, mixed with water and used for baking flatbreads.
Such “cornmeal” was also cooked in boiling water to make porridge.
"Dandelions"
Dandelion roots and leaves were washed, chopped, salted, and made into a broth.Roots were dried in the hearth, mashed in a mortar, added to boiling water, and set in a warm place to draw before drinking as a tea.
"Bird's Eggs"
People gathered various bird eggs from swamps, trees, and bushes.The effect of these understated works is chilling: one cannot help but be horrified by the idea of being forced to eat grasses, thistles, burdock, corn husks, cats, dogs, baby birds, or the carcasses of farm animals in a desperate attempt to get enough calories to stay alive.
The "recipes" presented in this "cookbook" are based on first-hand accounts of elderly Holodomor survivors that he had heard as a child. Therefore, these artworks can be seen as artistic re-presentations of oral histories, as well as a way for the residents of the rural regions of Ukraine to reclaim their collective stories of the Holodomor period.
Something about Sumy being hard-hit by the Holodomor.
From an early age, he was fascinated by stories of the past told by the elders in his village. He had learned about the Holodomor from his grandparents while still a child, and he wanted to commemorate it through art. His approach arose out of consideration that although entire families and entire villages were annihilated by the famine, some individuals managed to survive. What was it that helped them defy death while their relatives and friends perished? He collected oral histories from Holodomor survivors and drew on them to create the “Ukraine 1933: A Cookbook” series. Instead of shocking viewers with images of the dead and dying, his subtle but still chilling images give a voice to the survivors and provide windows into their lives during the Holodomor.
About the artist
Mykola Bondarenko was born in 1949 in the village of Dmytrivka in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine. He completed his professional studies in 1972 in Kharkiv. After graduating, Bondarenko moved to the village of Uspenky, located approximately 50 miles west of the city of Sumy, where he and his wife still live and keep a small farm. He has been working as an artist and graphic designer, with his primary medium being the linocut. In addition to “Ukraine 1933: A Cookbook”, he has created series of prints entitled “The Epic of Ihor’s Campaign”, “Shevchenkiana”, “My White House”, “The Ruined Temple”, and a portrait series of citizens of the Sumy region. His works have been exhibited in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, and the United States, and he has taken part in joint exhibits in Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, Bulgaria and Latvia.Bondarenko was born in 1949 in the Sumy region of Ukraine. From an early age, he was fascinated by stories of the past told by the elders in his village. After learning about the Holodomor, he wanted to commemorate it in artwork, but was dissatisfied with his early sketches. His artistic concept did not crystallize until he spoke to those that lived through the period and learned how they survived. The “recipes” in this “Cookbook” are based on those first-hand accounts. In addition to the recipes, the series also includes depictions of some of the homemade tools that were used to prepare the “food”. The UHEC Patriarch Mstyslav Museum permanent collection has a complete set of this print series that was donated by the artist, and has published them in book form together with English translations of the text in the prints.
This series of linocuts in “Ukraine 1933: a Cookbook” by Ukrainian artist Mykola Bondarenko depicts “recipes”, written down from first-hand accounts of survivors of the man-made famine (the Holodomor) in Ukraine in 1932-1933. The Holodomor–or death by starvation–was a genocide of the Ukrainian population which was perpetuated by the Soviet government.
Mykola Mykhaylovych Bondarenko was born in 1949 in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine. He graduated from the Kharkiv School of Art in 1972, and taught drawing and worked as an interior designer. From an early age, he was fascinated by stories of the past told by the elders in his village. After learning about the Holodomor, he wanted to commemorate it in artwork, but was dissatisfied with his early sketches. His artistic concept did not crystallize until he spoke to those that lived through the period and learned how they survived.
Instead of depicting emaciated peasants or other scenes of suffering and death, he presents the various plants and animals that people were forced to eat in order to survive. They are depicted in stark black and white lines set against a black cross shape (simultaneously recalling both the Christian Cross and a windowpane), and are accompanied by a short text identifying the plant or animal and describing how it was prepared for consumption (translation of the Ukrainian into English provided in each label). The effect is chilling: one cannot help but be horrified by the idea of being forced to eat grasses, thistles, burdock, corn husks, cats, dogs, baby birds, or the carcasses of farm animals in a desperate attempt to get enough calories to stay alive.The “recipes” in this “Cookbook” are based on those first-hand accounts. In addition to the recipes, the series also includes depictions of some of the homemade tools that were used to prepare the “food”.