Zone of Alienation X Disturbed Ground

The Ukrainian Institute in Germany, in collaboration with UNIGHT, and ∄ in partnership with CTM Festival, invites you to Zone of Alienation X Disturbed Ground — an evening of audiovisual performances at Berlin’s Kantine am Berghain.

This event merges electronic sound and experimental performance, spotlighting the ecological impact of the Russian war in Ukraine through sensorial and conceptual approaches.

About the event:

Artists from various disciplines and geographies will perform during the event, including undo despot, Zeynep Schilling, Khrystyna Kirik, Mark Bain, alen hast and myk rudik from u2203 studio, noorj and sevilâ nariman-qızı. Their practices span sound, performance, digital media, architectural intervention, and more.

The evening will feature three newly developed performances, two of which are work-in-progress presentations emerging from the Goethe-Institut supported project Disturbed Ground by ∄ and CTM Festival. Developed at ∄’s experimental production space, u2203 studio, in Kyiv in June 2025, the works will continue to be built for full premieres at CTM Festival in January 2026. Developed in close dialogue with Ukrainian scientists and ecologists, these works respond to the ecological impact of war through different sensorial and conceptual approaches.

Zone of Alienation insists on witnessing both sweeping ecological ruptures, as well as the smaller, more granular moments of loss that so often escape official record. Through the artworks presented on July 12, the understanding of war can be expanded beyond statistics and maps — into the sonic, the affective, and storytelling. These performances are a call to consider our relationship with land, river, and ruin — and to collectively refuse to let ecological destruction sink into silence.

About the artists and their works:

Khrystyna Kirik and Mark Bain’s piece with visuals from alen hast and myk rudik from u2203 studio explores the impact of military explosions on soil. Their performance transforms the brutal force of detonations — spanning regions from Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast to Kherson in the south — into an embodied sensory experience. By amplifying low- frequency vibrations normally inaudible to the human ear and employing archisonic techniques, the work activates both the space and the bodies within it, physically conveying the experience of destruction.

undo despot and Zeynep Schilling turn their focus to contaminated water bodies. Their work draws on scientific data tracing the pollution of rivers and reservoirs — from the aftermath of the Kakhovka dam’s collapse to toxic residues left by military equipment in waterways like the Oskil and Seym. Blending ecological research with mythological symbolism, their performance reimagines the river as both a vessel of memory and a site of continuous transformation. Both performances are in development as part of the ongoing ∄ X CTM project Disturbed Ground in a collaborative effort with u2203 studio, and reflect a deep engagement with the ecological realities of war.

The program also features an independent work co-created by noorj and sevilâ nariman-qızı, artists from Crimea, Ukraine. Their performance offers a poetic response to ecological ruination, centering on the mass death of dolphins in the Black Sea.

In addition, the evening includes a fourth work — State of Latitude — an immersive installation by Khrystyna Kirik and myk rudik with alen hast from u2203 studio. Developed during ∄’s Echoes of the Earth residency in 2024, it comprises four audiovisual chapters that trace the fragile beauty and devastation of southern and eastern Ukraine’s landscapes.

Accompanying the program is a newly created visual work by u2203 studio, envisioning the ground itself as a living cell — a fragile body ruptured by war.