There are many ways to write about an exhibition you haven’t seen. You can pretend that you attended the opening as you regurgitate the press release, or you can pilfer as much as you possibly can from those who fulfilled their journalistic duty, unlike you. Although such strategies may help to obfuscate your shame, it would be more enlightening to explain why you haven’t been.
In this case, the question isn’t one of effort. A journey was made to Berlin in late February to hear the artists and one of the curators speak during an event at the Hamburger Bahnhof. Countless hours have been dedicated to poring over their photographs and the stories that have been told about them. Nor is the question about the lack of attendance one of the exhibition’s not having opened yet – or not only. Even if its opening had occurred last week, I still wouldn’t have visited “Pairs Skating: Wolfgang Tillmans and Boris Mikhailov” in Kharkiv. That’s because, at the time of this writing, 1,111 days have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and traveling to a city that is only some 35 kilometers from the front line to attend an art show is not advisable for either the artists or anyone reporting on it.
