The Art of War / The Art of Machine Gun Maintenance
Exhibition by Dmytro Kupriyan
To view the exhibition refer to the menu on the left.
Curator: Igor Manko
VASA Exhibtions is happy to bring to the internet the work o f Ukrainian photojournalist Dmytro Kupriyan, entitled "The Art of War / The Art of Machine Gun Maintenance".
The title of this project contains two literary references: one to Sun Tzu’s treatiseThe Art of War and the other a less obvious hint at Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a once best-selling novel by Robert M. Pirsig.
The war as it is shown in Kupriyan’s project is nothing like a heroic battle. It is rather a set of monotonous routines: trainings, shooting practice, and cleaning the weapons so they don’t get stuck while in combat. We see the soldiers pose for the camera, attend chaplain services, smoke, and sleep (sometimes even in foxholes). These activities are part of their daily life as well as shooting back at the enemy or raids on the enemy’s positions.
