The sculpture was installed in 2019 in the city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on the pedestal where a Soviet Su-7 fighter jet — the first jet aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons — once stood. In 2024, after the situation on the front line deteriorated, the NGO Museum Open for Renovation and artist Zhanna Kadyrova, together with specialists and municipal workers from Pokrovsk, evacuated the deer despite the fact that its design had never been intended for transportation.
Before arriving in Venice, the Origami Deer toured several European countries. It was exhibited in Poland, Austria, Czechia, Germany, Belgium and France.
At the Venice Biennale, the sculpture is displayed suspended in the air. Like millions of Ukrainians affected by the full-scale war, the deer exists in a state of uncertainty: forced to leave its hometown, it has no permanent place to belong.
The Security Guarantees project is curated by Kseniia Malykh and Leonid Marushchak. The commissioner of the Ukrainian Pavilion is Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna.
In a short interview with NV recorded in Venice on the day of the Ukrainian Pavilion’s presentation, Zhanna Kadyrova spoke about how the Origami Deer has been perceived abroad.
— In an interview with Vogue in 2025, you said: “During the first two weeks of the war, it seemed to me that art was powerless. Now I don’t think that anymore. I see that every artistic gesture makes us visible.” What has art helped reveal about Ukraine to the world?
— I cannot speak for all Ukrainian artists, only from the perspective of my own experience. But if we are talking about my experience, then after the full-scale invasion began, the focus of my artistic practice changed completely.
Now, through my art, I try to speak about the war in Ukraine, the violence unleashed by Russia and the occupation of Ukrainian territories. I use materials from frontline areas. The Origami Deer sculpture that we presented at the Venice Biennale has also ceased to be just an art object. It has become an artifact from the frontline, evidence of Russia’s war crimes.
Through my practice I also communicate my own experience, because throughout all four years of the full-scale war I have continued living in Ukraine. My studio is in Kyiv. Using different media and materials, I try to convey truthful messages to the world from someone who is directly witnessing life in Ukraine during the war.
— After the start of the full-scale war, you decided not to exhibit your older works unrelated to the war and instead focus only on what is happening in Ukraine today. How does the international audience perceive such art? Do they fully understand it?
— I generally do not like old works. I am always more emotionally connected to what I am currently working on. Right now, I have simply put several art projects unrelated to the war on pause.
I do not know what people think about that or whether they even ask about my older works. But there is definitely attention now — a lot of it. People approach me personally and tell me they like the work.
Of course, many people ask about Russia’s return to the Biennale — every journalist asks about it. And naturally they ask about the concept behind our pavilion.
— In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, you also said: “Pokrovsk has been destroyed, and the sculpture is forced to wander like millions of Ukrainians. We want to warn that no one seems capable of influencing events in Ukraine or stopping this process. It could happen to someone else next.” Does Europe take such threats seriously?
— I do not know how seriously. It is difficult for me to answer that question.
Here at the Venice Biennale we are asking what security guarantees actually mean. The Security Guarantees project itself is about the fact that guarantees no longer exist in the world and that the Budapest Memorandum, signed 30 years ago when Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons, has become nothing more than a piece of paper. At this point, it is simply paper from which you can make origami.
— How did people react to the sculpture when it was exhibited in other countries before arriving at the Biennale? Did you meet many Ukrainians?
— In different cities we met people from Pokrovsk who came to touch the deer and make wishes. We had very emotional encounters because, while for me it symbolizes the successful rescue of an art object, for them it symbolizes their past lives and their homes. It symbolizes peaceful life in their hometown. And of course it is also a major emotional trigger for them. People cried, they hugged each other. I cried too. We are all human.
— In another interview, you said Russia’s return to the Biennale this year did not surprise you. Why? And where else should people expect Russia to appear in the cultural sphere?
— Why? Because I see the presence of Russian culture everywhere — many examples of it. At film festivals, the Olympic Games, opera houses and art museums. It is far from rare.
Exactly a year ago there was a scandal over Russian flags being raised at the Venice Film Festival. More recently there was controversy at the Olympic Games. So what is new here? Russia is simply trying to normalize war. That is abnormal, just as it is abnormal that these attempts to normalize war are happening at the same time Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities, killing civilians and continuing to occupy territories. For some reason, not everyone is still capable of drawing those parallels.