Who has never dreamt of eternal life or navigating outer space? Such dreams were an essential point of departure for the diverse artistic practices of the Soviet-Ukrainian artist Fedir Tetianych (born 1942 in Kniazhychi, in the Kyiv region, died 2007 in Kyiv, Ukraine). These practices included extravagant performances in public spaces that shook up the grayish Soviet realia, paintings, or state-commissioned monumental works.
Tetianych was a visionary who was influenced by the ideas of space exploration and the flight of the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to space in 1961. Seeing the limitations of a mortal body faced with the infinite universe, Tetianych envisioned ways to overcome life’s limitations. His ideas were intended to support the biological body with the new technologies aimed at exploring space. Keen on developing scenarios for the future, the artist invented the so-called Biotechnosphere, an alien capsule 2.40 meters in diameter that was designed as an autonomous dwelling for humanity both on Earth and in space.
On the grounds of the Zollverein Coking Plant, directly in front of the Salzlager (salt warehouse), you can see a reconstruction of the Biotechnosphere by Bogdan Tetianych, son of Fedir Tetianych, and the Ukrainian architect Bögdana Kosmina. The reproduction of the model of Tetianych’s invention, which was initially installed at the railroad depot in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region of Ukraine (now occupied by Russia), contributes to preserving the heritage of this particular artist, while calling attention to the existence and increasing the visibility of Ukrainian art history, which is currently under threat.
