On 21 March, the participants of the All-Ukrainian Competition on Environmental Design Using Recycled Materials – «Space for Ideas» were awarded their diplomas. According to the competition organisers, the project idea must not only present the formal use of recycled materials, but also express the author’s vision of contemporary issues.
Students of the Department of Visual Design and Art, the Institute of Architecture and Design, Lviv Polytechnic, demonstrated a high level of creativity and environmental awareness, and won awards in the Installation, Artwork, Product Design and Visual Design nominations.
In particular, the following works were submitted:
- Installation Who Am I? – about the impact of visual clutter on human consciousness
- «In today’s world, we face a huge number of advertising messages, logos, brands, barcodes, labels and price tags every day, which gradually shape our perception of reality. These visual markers influence people’s identity, making them subconsciously define themselves through consumption and association with certain brands. This image is a symbol of a person who has no identity. It is a call to look at oneself through the chaos of visual noise and find one’s identity in the world of information overload», think the authors of the project – Oleksandr Valkov (DS-13 group), Anastasiia Ostashevska (DS-13), Anna Piasetska (DS-11) and Iryna Fedorchak (DS-13). The project is supervised by Kateryna Kuziv, Assistant at the Department of Visual Design and Art.
- Installation «Ocean Space»
- Every year, plastic pollution kills about a million seabirds, hundreds of thousands of marine mammals and countless fish. This project aims to prevent damage to the ecosystem. The authors of the project are Olena Yarmak, Yuliia Huts, Yanina Vasylko, Viktoriia Kuntsyk and Oksana Sabat (DS-22). Supervisors are Associate Professor Romanna Motyl and Assistant Marianna Dubova-Strashevska, the Department of Visual Design and Art.
- Design of the Homo Stabilis hanger
- The project aims to create a functional, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture made from recycled furniture materials. The idea combines the principles of sustainable design, recycling and rational use of resources, demonstrating how industrial residues can be given a new life in household items. The author is Yana Shtets (DZZV-12). The project manager is Oksana Melnyk, Associate Professor at the Department of Visual Design and Art.
- Project «Consumerism: the illusion of choice»
- It explores consumerism as a force that shapes modern society, imposing the illusion of choice and freedom through aggressive advertising. The main symbol of the project is the monster of consumerism, an abstract creature that is a source of manipulation, controlling people’s minds and turning them into subordinates of consumer culture. The project encourages the viewer to think about how real the freedom of choice is if our desires are shaped by external forces. It questions consumer culture and reveals its hidden threat through eerie metaphors and visual solutions. The author is Maksym Zinko. The project is supervised by Associate Professor Roksoliana Kvasnytsia and Associate Professor Ruslan Halyshych, the Department of Visual Design and Art.
- The project «My Home»
- It shows the conflict between urbanisation and nature, demonstrating how urban sprawl displaces the living environment. The series of posters conveys the tension between natural landscapes and aggressive development that changes the ecosystem. Each poster reflects different stages of this process – from the gradual decline of nature to its complete disappearance under the pressure of urban structures. The aim of the project is to draw attention to the problem of uncontrolled development, to make us think about the future of cities that can either coexist with nature or completely absorb it. Authors are Kateryna Lakusta, Zlata Nahorna, Anna Slishevych (DS-43). Supervisor – Associate Professor Oksana Melnyk, the Department of Visual Design and Art.
- Artwork «Fragments of Memory»
- The project is about how the elements of everyday life can become construction waste after a missile attack. What is left is only the memory of it. The triptych uses frames that used to hold photographs of relatives. The replacement of the photo with a composition of broken glass, wire and mirror is due to the desire to convey the image of public memory. The pieces of mirror offer the viewer to see themselves here and now, to see themselves in the present. The author is Viktoriia Kovtonenko (DS-13). The project manager is Kateryna Kuziv, an Assistant at the Department of Visual Design and Art.
- Project «Living Springs»
- The project is dedicated to cleaning up polluted water sources in Lviv. As part of the project, four posters were created to illustrate the process of cleaning water sources. The aim of the project is to draw attention to the problem of source water pollution, emphasising that it threatens not only people but also negatively affects flora and fauna and leads to ecosystem degradation. The series of posters reflects the ecological cycle: from environmental decay to its cleaning, subsequent revival and sustainable existence in the renewed environment. The author is Anna-Maria Tverda. The project manager is Ruslan Halyshych, Associate Professor at the Department of Visual Design and Art.
The participation of the students of the Department of Visual Design and Art in the Space for Ideas competition was another confirmation of their creativity, environmental awareness and ability to raise important social and environmental issues through design, inspiring change and responsible attitude to the environment.
