{"id":13032,"date":"2025-09-01T17:55:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T14:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastfutureart.org\/?p=13032"},"modified":"2025-09-01T18:12:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T15:12:42","slug":"hur-memorial_by_nazar-bilyk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastfutureart.org\/en\/hur-memorial_by_nazar-bilyk\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial: a conversation with sculptor Nazar Bilyk"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial:\r\na conversation with sculptor Nazar Bilyk<\/h1>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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20.06.2025<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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In June 2025, a memorial dedicated to fallen Ukrainian intelligence operatives was inaugurated on the grounds of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) Directorate in Kyiv. It\u2019s not a monument in the traditional sense, nor is it a public space. There are no heroic statues or war quotations here, only two white stelae that define the place of silence, commemoration, and personal reflection.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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\r\n Author: Maria Lymar <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n
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The memorial was designed by Nazar Bilyk, a Ukrainian sculptor renowned for his <\/span>Pavlo Sheremet memorial sign<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>the Rain sculpture<\/span><\/a> at Kyiv\u2019s Landscape Alley, and the <\/span>Sandarmokh memorial<\/span><\/a>. DIU intentionally approached him with the request and provided a space for his potent artistic response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In March 2025, Kateryna Semenyuk, a co-founder of the Past \/ Future \/ Art memory culture platform, visited Nazar Bilyk in his workshop to gain an insight into his work and discuss how the memorial was conceived and what it signifies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is an abridged and structured version of their conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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Nazar Bilyk<\/div>\r\n
Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/div>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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So, Nazar, how did it all begin? Who approached you, and what was their request?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The DIU people came and said they needed a memorial to honor the fallen intelligence operatives. Their only condition was that it looked like \u201canything but Soviet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t aim for a traditional, Soviet-like monumental sculpture anyway, even though my father is a sculptor, as is my grandfather, and monuments were all they discussed. I have long been avoiding that topic, preferring to develop a visual language of my own. Now I feel it\u2019s fully formed, and I have something to say about memory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnything but Soviet\u201d is precisely what people ask for when they approach us. We have grown accustomed to this visual language, having been raised in it, and now we recognize it at first sight. But it no longer works. Societal demand for <\/b>\u201c<\/span>anything but Soviet<\/b>\u201d<\/span> is totally understandable. Knowing your previous works, they expected you to offer something contemporary.<\/b><\/p>\n

They did. Their trust was what hooked me. They said, Nazar, figure out what it could be, make some draft designs, and let\u2019s meet again in a month. And that\u2019s what happened.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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THE DIU PEOPLE CAME AND SAID THEY NEEDED A MEMORIAL TO HONOR THE FALLEN INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVES. THEIR ONLY CONDITION WAS TO ENSURE THERE IS NOTHING SOVIET ABOUT IT<\/p>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n

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Did you know each other? Or someone referred them to you?<\/b><\/p>\n

They knew a lot about me. At the meeting, they mentioned my father, also a sculptor, who used to work with the intelligence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You mean they didn\u2019t even ask for your address? Just said, Nazar, we\u2019ll be at your place in five<\/b>?<\/span> (laughs<\/span><\/i> \u2014 editor\u2019s note)<\/span><\/p>\n

They came to my workshop, and we discussed everything there. I didn\u2019t plunge into work, didn\u2019t start right away. And then your team took me to Chernihiv.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, we invited you on our <\/b>Chernihiv expedition<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Getting two requests about the same topic in a row got the gears turning in my head.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember how we doubted whether you would go. We knew you had a lot on your plate. It was a great joy to see you arrive\u2014having an experienced artist like you with us meant a great deal. Did the discussion part of the <\/b>Memorialization Practices Lab<\/b><\/a> help you?<\/b><\/p>\n

It sure did. I checked out the participants\u2019 capstone projects even when I was ill. The Lab provided immersion into the problem even at the idea development stage. Doing things alone is anything but easy, but there, I had a community.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Chernihiv, I met Yehor Perepeliuk from <\/span>Guess Line Architects<\/span><\/a>. The bureau\u2019s team and its founder, architect Andrii Lesiuk, made a strong impression. We made a great creative team, which gave me more confidence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A month later, we held a presentation of three ideas for the future memorial. The following day, they called us back and said one of the ideas was a go. It was \u201cevocative,\u201d as they put it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which one did you like the most?<\/b><\/p>\n

The one they picked, actually. It emerged at the confluence of architecture and sculpture during a discussion within our team.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/div>\r\n
Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/div>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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Is this interdisciplinary aspect, when professions and languages are combined<\/b>, <\/span>a model for a good memorial?<\/b><\/p>\n

I am accustomed to working solo and not particularly keen on teamwork, but the memorial called for a joint effort. Memorials are about working with space and multi-vector composition. That was the mindset I looked for in my potential partners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And that synergy was there.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

It was. We proposed a vision that focused more on the practice than on the object.<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing about memory<\/b> is that it doesn\u2019t exist as such. It needs a practice of some sort to exist. It must be created and sustained, which takes effort, and putting in effort is<\/b> a choice. Our project includes this kind of practice. Today, we stood at the memorial and thought about how it could be interacted with.<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, we thought about how people would enter that space, what they would do there, and how they would feel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The two stelae cover you like hands or wings, cutting out the noise and evoking a sense of protection. There, you can be near those who are no longer with us, but still close, through memory.<\/span><\/p>\n

As it happens, there is a certain rhythm of life at that place<\/b>\u2014<\/span>everybody is hurrying somewhere. It\u2019s the intelligence directorate, after all. The memorial offers an alternative of sorts:<\/b> to escape that stream and transition to a different state. And it happens so fast. The feeling changes<\/b> the moment you enter the space between the stelae. Technically, everything stays the same, but something clicks inside you.<\/b><\/p>\n

The idea was to create an inclusive space\u2014an open environment that functions as a mini-park. The memorial would become a place for a range of emotional experiences from grief through closeness and to a particular kind of recreational recharging. A space for rethinking.<\/span><\/p>\n

We filled it with greenery and thoughtfully approached setting the route that people would take through the memorial.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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THE MEMORIAL WOULD BECOME A PLACE FOR A RANGE OF EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES FROM GRIEF THROUGH CLOSENESS AND TO A PARTICULAR KIND OF RECREATIONAL RECHARGING. A SPACE FOR RETHINKING<\/p>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n

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How did you come up with the visual language, and what was the meaning you wanted to impart?<\/b><\/p>\n

I realized that working with intelligence took talking the same language\u2014the language of symbols, signs, and ciphers. We wanted to integrate this language into the memorial.<\/span><\/p>\n

When they saw the memorial\u2019s top-down visualization, they found it moving. It\u2019s impossible to notice as you stand near it. But from a bird\u2019s-eye view, which you would see on Google Maps or satellite imagery, it looks like an eye watching the stars from the Earth\u2014 unsleeping, unblinking. This is the main idea behind it.<\/span><\/p>\n

DIU\u2019s motto is <\/span>Sapiens dominabitur astris<\/span><\/i>, and the memorial will light up in the evening, like a starry sky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, the wings, flame, and shields are all metaphors for their land, air, and sea operations.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/div>\r\n
Photo by Dmytro Kolos<\/div>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n
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The symbolism of DIU\u2019s emblem<\/b>\u2014<\/span>the owl\u2014is also there. The eye, the wings\u2026<\/b> There are many layers of meaning here. And they caught it all. Even though it\u2019s not a literal depiction or a direct reference, they recognized themselves in that complex form and multi-layer approach.<\/b><\/p>\n

They did. I saw that recognition happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, it was when we discussed the memorial\u2019s central element\u2014the round platform between the stelae. It looks like a pupil of an eye. It was conceived as a place to put flowers, death lanterns, or other tokens of respect.<\/span><\/p>\n

On its side, we put the word \u201ceternity\u201d in different languages.<\/span><\/p>\n

You said it was the only thing that Kyrylo Budanov <\/b>(Chief of Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine<\/i><\/b>\u2014translator\u2019s note<\/b>)<\/i><\/b> had a specific request about.<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, he said it would be great to thank all our partners from many countries globally.<\/span><\/p>\n

And we decided to write the word \u201ceternity\u201d in the languages of all those people who work with DIU, accenting the Latin one\u2014<\/span>aeternitas.<\/span><\/i> This is our way of expressing gratitude through language.<\/span><\/p>\n

They told me that many foreigners work in DIU units, so it\u2019s an important thing to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then there are the names on the inside of the wing stelae\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, we wanted to honor each of the fallen with a dedicated plaque. Initially, we considered engraving. Later, though, we got the idea to make chevron plaques with names or even call signs, mimicking their counterparts on uniforms. It\u2019s the military\u2019s visual language distilled into a modest stainless steel plaque.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/p>\r\n

Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/p>\r\n

Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/p>\r\n

Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/p>\r\n

Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/p>\r\n

Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n

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The Defense Intelligence Operatives Memorial<\/p>\r\n

Photo by Dmytro Prutkin<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n

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