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2025

DEAR JAFAR,
 

text messages

marble poster

video

In this project, Maksym Khodak refers to global cinema to overcome political differences and develop a common language. The artist is trying to get in touch with the well-known Iranian opposition director Jafar Panahi by writing him a letter suggesting they create together a movie that reflects on the experience of the war in Ukraine and the role of Iranian Shahed-136 drones in Russian shelling.

In his own country, Jafar Panahi has been denied the right to make movies due to accusations of anti-government activities. The director therefore often shoots films without physically participating in the process. This approach resonates with Khodak’s idea, which creates an atmosphere of anticipation for the premiere of the upcoming movie in the exhibition space.

A marble-embossed poster shows footage of a possible plot: Jafar Panahi sits on a couch while behind him a mobile fire team shoots down a target in the sky over Ukraine, or the artist's parents ride their bicycles into a field to see the crater left by the downed drone. Breaking the silence of anticipation for the movie, the space is filled with the sound of revving engines from Khodak’s new video work. The visual sequence consists of a set of scenes cut from Iranian films where people ride mopeds (a reference to current Ukrainian slang where the word ‘moped’ is used to refer to Shahed drones).

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© 2025 by Maksym Khodak

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