‘Land: The Bearer of Memory’ installation dedicated to humanitarian demining now in Kyiv’s Gulliver shopping mall

The installation consists of eleven transparent cylinders, ten of which are filled with soil from regions affected by hostilities, creating a space where the land “speaks” through the voices of people whose lives have been changed by the war. Beneath these cylinders is living grass, serving as a symbol of recovery and the return of life. Each flask contains a separate audio story: from sappers who neutralize explosive objects every day, to farmers restoring their fields, and children returning home. This soil becomes a symbol of resilience, restoration, and memory.

A distinctive feature of the updated installation is an eleventh cylinder, which is empty. No grass grows beneath it – there is no life there. It symbolizes Ukrainian land to which access is currently unavailable and which is still waiting to be de-mined. This cylinder holds untold stories that sound different – only the noise of the wind and the rustling of grass. This serves as a reminder that much work remains ahead, with vast areas of land waiting to be renewed and returned to life.

Auke Lootsma, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine, noted the importance of the exhibition’s continued presence: “Land is more than just soil; it is the foundation of a community’s future and the bedrock of Ukraine's recovery,” Lootsma said. “By sharing these stories in the public sphere, we ensure that humanitarian de-mining remains a primary national priority. This installation allows the land to ‘speak’ for itself, serving as a reminder that until the final mine is cleared, the restoration of life and the country's socio-economic potential remains incomplete.”

Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, emphasized the significance of inaccessible land symbolized by the installation’s eleventh cylinder: “If you drive past the fields right now, you will see that work is in full swing,” Bezkaravainyi said. “However, a vast amount of agricultural land remains dangerous and will once again go uncultivated this year. Our task is to ensure that areas like (those represented by) ‘Cylinder 11’ become increasingly rare, because safe land yields returns that far outweigh the effort invested in it.”

The project was originally presented in January this year at the Ivan Franko National Academic Dramatic Theatre in Kyiv, with the participation of UNDP in Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, and the Demine Ukraine platform. The goal of the project is to raise public awareness of humanitarian de-mining as one of Ukraine's key priorities. The Gulliver Shopping and Entertainment Centre acted as the location partner for the installation, opening the space to a wide audience and integrating the theme of humanitarian de-mining into the daily urban environment.

Background:

According to official data, since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than a third of Ukraine’s territory – 174,000 square kilometres – was considered potentially contaminated. However, by the end of 2025, this figure had been reduced to 133,300 square kilometres. Even as the war continues, Ukraine has already returned more than 40,000 square kilometres of land to use, including 5,203 square kilometres released in 2025 alone. Learn more about the initiative and listen to the stories at https://landofmemory.com.ua/en/  

Media enquiries: 

Yuliia Samus, Head of Communications and Advocacy, UNDP in Ukraine; yuliia.samus@undp.org