Vlodko Kaufman
‘Shadow of the Flag’, 2024, video with sound, 8′15″
Vlodko works with happening, performance, installation and artistic provocation and creates related projects at the intersection of theatre and various fields of art: painting, sculpture, graphic art, video and photography.
The video ‘Shadow of the Flag’ is atypical of Vlodko’s practice, as he had not worked with video for many years and linked its creation to his response to the full-scale invasion. The work critically examines two aspects—the image of the flag itself and the way it is conveyed. The artist focuses on the awareness of personal choice—the piece is a reflection addressed to others, above all, his compatriots. What does the flag mean to each person? What kind of flag appears in the imagination? Kaufman points out that even when the flag is not visible, its sound continues to affect the imagination and conjure up an image which may be different for everyone.
The artist deliberately incorporated the context of a transmitted video signal. The presence of the camera and cameraman is part of the artistic gesture; the recording hand trembles, the image is at times distorted (pixelated to the point of abstraction), and visual ‘noise’ appears. In this way, Vlodko expresses his distrust of the image as a mediator—an intermediary that can manipulate the viewer, a tool of ideology and propaganda.
