VALENT YN ODN OVI U N
SURVEILLANCE A Typology of Oppression
PATAREI. Tallinn
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N1178. Vilnius
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From Author
The project consists of photographs of the walking yard and prison cell door spyholes in former political prisons in Eastern Europe. Main task of the State Security agencies was spying on the population, fight dissidents, imprison and eliminate objectionable “unwanted� people. All oppressive systems use the same methods building on the knowledge of other such regimes. With time, surveillance taking new forms, but the main essence remains. Total physical and mind control of society. The actual work call into question the relation between what we see and what we perceive in advance of the act of recognition. These photographs emphasize the borders not only of human perception, but the border where the consequences of human action meet reason. Photographs, presented here, are both documentary and subjective at the same time. They embody real traces of events, objects and memories, but also serve as platforms for imagining them in more interpretative and conceptual form.
Index The complex called Patarei (Battery) was originally built in Tallinn, Estonia
The building known as the Stūra māja (Corner House) was constructed in
as a sea fortress, by the order of Russian Emperor Nicholas I in 1828. It
Riga, Latvia in 1912 as apartments and stores. In 1940 the NKVD moved into
was not used for its intended purpose, but was converted into a prison in
the building when the Soviet Union occupied Latvia for the first time. The
1920 and used by the Republic of Estonia as an ordinary prison until 1940.
Soviet authorities moved to the building again in 1944 and occupied it until
During the Nazi Germany occupation from 1941 to 1944, the prison was
the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
overloaded by five times more prisoners than it could contain. From 1944 until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the communist regime
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The actual prison was initially established in the basement of the building and started with 14 cells of different sizes. The sixth floor of the Corner
took control of the complex.
House, during the years of occupation from 1940-1941, was used for tor-
Victims of the Soviet oppressive system passed through Patarei prior to
ture and interrogations. Executions were carried out in the basement or
their execution or before being sent to Gulag camps in the Soviet Union.
the yard. After numerous people were interrogated, they were sent to the
The KGB used it as a high security facility to deal with political prisoners,
notorious Gulag camps. People were also brought there for conversations
critics of the Soviet regime, dissidents and freedom fighters. Prisoners were
where the KGB tried to persuade them to become informants.
interrogated and executed there until the end of the 1980s.
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Prison Cell Door Spyholes. KGB Prison, Riga, Latvia
Walking Yard Section Entrance Door Spyhole. KGB Prison, Tallinn, Estonia Prison Cell Door Spyholes. KGB Prison, Tallinn, Estonia
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The small health resort town of Cesis is located in the northern central part
The building that was opened in 1899 and situated practically in downtown
of Latvia. The KGB functioned in the building on the opposite side of the
Vilnius, Lithuania, was used by the Russian Empire’s court system, then by
street from the police department in the historic part of town at Pils iela
German occupation forces during WWI and successively; by the Bolshevik
(Castle Street). The detention center on the premises of the police depart-
government in 1919, the Polish authorities during Polish occupation in 1920-
ment and its six prison cells were used by the KGB for political prisoners.
1939, by the Soviet repressive institutions NKVD in 1940-1941, by the Gesta-
Many people from Cesis district suffered from Soviet repressions and deportations to Siberia between 1941-1949. Many were killed or executed by
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po during WWII, and by Soviet repressive institution including the KGB until 1991. In 1964 in archival KGB documents this place was referred to as 1178.
the Soviets as freedom fighters between 1944 and 1956. It is unknown when
The walking yards, situated in the inner yard of the former KGB headquar
the building began to be used as a prison.
ters, were built in 1969. Each yard was used to let prisoners from a single cell have a 20-minute walk. The perimeter around the walking yards were
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guarded by dogs. Two guards with machine guns stood and overlooked
Prison Cell Door Spyholes. KGB Prison, Cesis, Latvia
the yards. A third guard checked prisoners through the spyholes during 2.3
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their walk. 4.1 Prison Cell Door Spyhole. KGB Prison, Vilnius, Lithuania 4.2 Solitary Prison Cell Door Spyhole. KGB Prison, Vilnius, Lithuania 4.3-4.6 Walking Yard Door Spyholes. KGB Prison, Vilnius, Lithuania
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A Single Viewer’s Observation AG N Ė N A R U ŠY TĖ
When Valentyn Odnoviun first showed these
universal, but the “eyes” of each facility are
understand the circle have reached towards
naive to try and trace their specific caus-
photographs to me, for a few moments
of a different colour, as if it was important to
geometry, astrology and astronomy. As if
es. Yet our imagination does not need that:
I thought they were planets. One looks like
express the prison’s identity. Some spyholes
to restore that link, Odnoviun photographs
the scenes from documentaries and stories
the Earth. Another, like Mars. Or maybe the
of the walking yards in the KGB prison of Vil-
the spyholes shining like ancient worlds lost
about the methods of interrogation used by
Moon. In one image, darkness scarfs an
nius are white — they look like a “snowball”
in darkness, but already burdened with the
the KGB run in our minds in accelerated mo-
edge of the Earth — it is an eclipse, or may-
Earth. Amber belongs to the cells in Riga and
history of oppression invented by humani-
tion. I see bodies being beaten and blood
be the waning. Yet soon cracks and fissures
Lviv, but several blue spyholes from Cēsis
ty. This juncture — of an unearthly beauty
splashed behind the glass. But it could be
come into focus and dismantle this cosmic
have been shattered and daubed over —
and the knowledge that it is made of dirt —
vice versa. Perhaps, the surveilled prisoner
poetry: the shapes of “continents” are shred-
like dying planets. One cell for those con-
draws my gaze into each photograph. I am
is trying to defend himself from the gaze: he
ded, the red Mars is scratched, the edge of
demned to death has a bleeding carcass
not surprised that this series won the 2016
scratches the glass and stabs at the surveil-
the blue planet is not waning, but has been
revealed in its torn body. The water-like, or-
Debut competition held by the Union of Lith-
lant’s eyes. These visual eruptions of passion
pried open like a soup can, and the amber
ange and whitish spyholes of the Mokotów
uanian Art Photographers in Vilnius. The art-
make it impossible for us to compare the ex-
of Saturn reveals the outline of a room. In an
prison in Warsaw and Stasi remand prison in
ist has discovered a symbol for our collective
perience of those monitored in KGB prisons
instant, the image is turned inside out: the
Berlin look like a forbidden paradise fenced
trauma of the 20th century. He has drawn
with the neutralised effect of surveillance
bulging balls become holes plugged with
off by a thick wall. The photographer looks
it from the material heritage of occupations
cameras today. The glass in the spyholes is
thick pieces of glass. If you got closer, you
into those holes as if through the illuminator
endured by several neighbouring coun-
a membrane absorbing the gaze, not letting
could see something through them, but the
of a spaceship.
tries. The repeating shape of surveillance
the rage through, but preserving the traces
photographer does not do it; he focuses on
I cannot break away from cosmic associa-
suggests we should get rid of our solipsist
of struggle, which sometimes remind of con-
the glass, on the thickness of experiences,
tions because they are part of the visual ef-
moaning by simply looking from a different
tinents and craters… My imagination slips
the traces of something. Of something bad,
fect. The circle has always been the symbol
perspective, which grants more objectivity
from horror to cosmos again — aroused by
for the Martian redness may be blood.
of perfection and divinity. This geometrical
and helps us to overcome the self-imposed
this uncanny beauty, stretched between the
The titles help to solve the photographic rid-
shape was conceived from the observations
separation and solitude.
poles of the oxymoron.
dle: these are the spyholes of the KGB and
of the Sun and the Moon, a kind of projec-
The scratches, the stains and rust that have
I bring myself back to the reality of surveil-
Stasi prisons in Vilnius, Riga, Cēsis, Tallinn,
tion of celestial bodies on Earth, which was
patterned the spyholes seem to be the ev-
lance in the KGB and STASI prisons. Since
Lviv, Warsaw and East Berlin. The design is
still “flat” then. The joint efforts of scientists to
idence of violence, although it would be
I can see nothing through these spyholes,
Curating the Unimaginable: Valentyn Odnoviun – Surveillance JA N G U STAV FI ED LER
What is exceptional about Odnoviun’s art is
perspective from the inside of the cell to the
the width and the freedom they suggested.
space, but in this historic context there was
that it works in any space. His works have
outside, the others a view from the guard’s
As soon as the visitor became aware of what
no resemblence to a galaxy like in Vienna.
the power to cast a spell over the viewer,
side into the cell. The viewer cannot be sure
he really was looking at, the atmosphere of
These are images full of pain and power-
and make him forget about his surround-
from which position the photo was taken,
the room changed. It seemed opressive and
lessness, but also of an immense beauty
ings. Many art works are designed in a way
and feels like an observer and an observed
it became clear that the knowledge about
and great hope. They are a ray of hope in a
that makes them work only in a very spe-
at the same time. This ambivalence of the
what we see is a significant part of the effect
darkened world. The aspect of hope defeats
cific environment. In the case of Valentyn
inner and outer is only one aspect of many
of Odnoviun’s work. Within seconds some-
the brutal architecture, and the exceptional
Odnoviun it is the exact opposite. It does
contrasts of the series. Round light forms on
thing beautiful changes into something
power of Odnoviun’s art becomes apparent.
not matter where the artworks are shown,
the black rectangle background, highly po-
scary. So depending on the information the
Bombs and dynamite were not able to de-
the art dominates the space. Depending
litical and personal, beautiful and horrific,
visitor got, he was either a part of a free,
stroy the space of a bunker, but the pictures
on the place, different aspects of the works
all this combined together is what makes this
distant universe or confronted with the cruel
succeeded in crushing the narrow rooms
come to the foreground and arouse differ-
art extraordinary.
power of a totalitarian regime.
and turning narrowness into wideness.
ent emotions in the viewer’s mind. Therein
The first exhibition I worked on together
The second exhibition “The Process” opened
With his camera, Odnoviun documents not
lies the magic of the artworks, and this text
with Valentyn Odnoviun was his solo show
May 25, 2018 at Flandernbunker Museum in
only reality, he also captures various feelings
is an approach to the complexity of the art
“Surveillance” in December 2017 in Vienna.
Kiel. Built in 1943, it was a bunker and emer-
and vibrations. This duality of the real and
of Valentyn Odnoviun. By means of three
Twenty-three artworks of the Surveillance
gency headquarters for the navy of the Third
abstract makes his art humane and at the
examples it will be shown how the art ap-
cycle were on display in a showroom in a
Reich. Here, for the first time in Germany,
same time unattainable.
pears in different spaces and how the works
basement with clean white walls as well as
the cycles “Surveillance,” “The Process” and
My third collaboration with Odnoviun took
manage, in a positive sense, to occupy even
rough red brick walls. One came down the
“Traces of Memory” were shown.
place at Monumenta Leipzig in October
unusual places for themselves. The main fo-
staircase and entered a parallel universe.
The bunker is a raw architecture made of
2018. In that exhibition, incorporating over
cus here is on the “Spyholes” from the series
The photos were hung on nylon strings a
concrete and steel. In the military functional
240 artists, a work by Odnoviun marked the
“Surveillance.” This cycle consists of photo-
few inches off the walls. Almost every visi-
context of these oppressive premises anoth-
end of the exhibition. The site of Monumenta
graphs depicting prison cell door spyholes.
tor associated them with planets and the
er aspect of Odnoviun’s work emerges to the
was 36,000 square meters of industrial ar-
They were taken in former prisons of the
gallery seemed like its own galaxy. One got
foreground. As in the first show, the “Spy-
chitecture, monumental halls, long passages
Gestapo, KGB, UB and Stasi. Some present a
caught up in the aestehtics of the works and
holes” were hung on nylon cords, floating in
and enormous courtyards. There is enough
Acknowledgements As the author of the project “Surveillance” I am very grateful to my publisher Artprint, Gulnara Galiachmetova who helped me throughout the process of shaping the project into the form of a book, and Daniel Samulevič for production supervision; Lithuanian Culture Research Institute and to the director of the LCRI, Rasius Makselis, for co-funding this publication; Agnė Narušytė, for creating the essay about the project and for the continuous support in my beginnings in the field of art; Jan Gustav Fiedler, for curatorship of my exhibitions internationally and the text written specially for this book; Patrick Murphy, for editing texts for this book and for many hours spent in conversations about philosophy and photography; Lynn Odnovyun for proof reading; Raimundas Austinskas for color separation and preparing photographs for printing. For the help in reaching the actual former political prisons and gathering information about them: — Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights (Vilnius, Lithuania); — Burning Conscience — permanent exhibition on the resistance of the people of Cesis District to the Soviet and Nazi occupations (Cesis, Latvia); — Museum of the Occupation of Latvia 1940-1991 (Riga, Latvia); — National Museum-Memorial of Victims of the Occupation Regimes “Lontsky Street Prison” (Lviv, Ukraine); — Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen (Berlin, Germany); — Estonian Institute of Historical Memory (Tallinn, Estonia); — Institute of National Remembrance (Poznan, Warsaw, Poland); — Museum of Doomed Soldiers and Political Prisoners of the Polish People’s Republic (Warsaw, Poland). Also, I would like to express my appreciation to professor Alvydas Lukys for his invaluable impact on my development as an artist, Margaryta Zubrii for help and support during creation of the latest projects, Rucka Artist Residency and Ieva Dreibante, Docking Station Residency team and the experts I met during the residency, Iris Sikking, Ksenia Nouril, Elīna Kalniņa, Aija Abene, Ruslan Zabily, Eugenijus Peikštenis, Bogumiła Berdychowska, André Kockisch, Gert Rahnel, Rafał Michliński and Evaldas Rimšelis. I appreciate all of the energy and time invested by the people who helped me along the way to create this project and the actual book. I look forward to thanking them personally. This project is dedicated to my father Viktor Odnovyun, who spent more than four years in three different prisons as an asylum-seeker. VA L EN T Y N O D N OV I U N
SURVEILLANCE © Valentyn Odnoviun, 2020
Photographs: Valentyn Odnoviun Designer: Gulnara Galiachmetova, Valentyn Odnoviun Color separation: Raimundas Austinskas Production supervisor: Daniel Samulevič Texts: Agnė Narušytė, Jan Gustav Fiedler Proof reading: Patrick Murphy, Lynn Odnovyun
Published by ARTPRINT | www.artprint.lt
In collaboration with Lithuanian Culture Research Institute
Printed in Lithuania Edition of 450 copies ISBN 978-609-95181-9-0