Kiev installation lets you stand in Lenin’s shoes

Ever thought you’d make a good ruler? Head to Kiev, where a temporary art installation is giving you the chance to stand in Lenin’s place.

Entitled Inhabiting Shadows, the installation takes the form of a staircase to the pedestal where a statue of Lenin once stood. The monument, located in the centre of the city, was toppled by pro-European protesters in December 2013 during the Maidan protests.

According to the artist behind the project, Cynthia Gutierrez from Mexico, Inhabiting Shadows “intends to provoke a discussion and reflection about imposed memory, system failure, emptiness, identity, and occupying space”.

Organised by Kiev-based cultural platform Izolyatsia, a not-for-profit, non-governmental platform for contemporary culture that was founded in 2010 in Donetsk, the installation will remain in place until the end of the week. It forms part of a more extensive exhibition, Social Contract, which centres on public symbols and will run at the Izolyatsia Centre for Cultural Initiatives until 24 August.

Source: Radio Liberty