Polina Stohnushko, born in 1994 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and based in Berlin, is a Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung PhD scholar at the University of Passau and an intervention artist. She is also part of the PhD program Epistemologies of Aesthetic Practices, a collaborative initiative involving UZH, ETH Zurich, and ZHdK. Polina earned her bachelor's degree in Sociology from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (2016) and her M.A. in Cultural Studies from the University of Tübingen (2019) as a DAAD scholar. In 2022, she held a scholarship for spatial practitioners at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. Her dissertation presents a longitudinal sociological study of graffiti with social and political statements, using Berlin as a case study. The research aims to establish graffiti as a distinctive and valuable source of data for analyzing societal dynamics. The scientific significance of her work lies in the development of a theoretical framework employing a grounded theory approach to examine the underlying motivations, sociopolitical dimensions, and structural conditions that drive the production of graffiti
In her artistic practice, Polina creates text-based, site-specific interventions in urban space, some of which are unauthorized. Her interventions are fully self-organized, emerging from a deep personal engagement with city space as a platform for political action and speech - addressing urgent societal issues and fostering civic engagement. As her work is inherently site-specific - and often time-sensitive - each authorized intervention requires extensive negotiation with local authorities, including the police, various governmental institutions, and ministries. These negotiations, which can span months, are an integral part of her practice, revealing the highly regulated nature of urban space and exposing the bureaucratic and political constraints that define its accessibility. The process itself becomes political, showcasing how modern city space is subject to strict control and censorship. The temporary nature of her interventions reflects a conscious decision to respect the dynamic, ever-changing fabric of the city while also emphasizing the urgency of the messages conveyed
Creative Direction and Photography: Liubov Dyvak