The War Bodies, the Geobodies, and the Gender Neutrality of War in Ukraine: A Visual Arts Perspective

This study examines the gendered experiences and representations of war within contemporary Ukrainian art amidst the ongoing conflict, emphasizing the universal and gender-neutral dimensions of wartime experience. War reconceptualizes society as a collective reality, enacting conditions that impact all individuals indiscriminately. Consequently, this analysis proposes viewing the bodies affected by war as gender-neutral entities—referred to as "war bodies"—and as geobodies. The concept of the geobody draws on the work of Swiss media artist Ursula Biemann, who posits that the body extends beyond mere physicality to become intertwined with the geographic, ecological, and socio-political contexts of a given space. Within this framework, Ukrainian war bodies are inherently shaped by their spatial environments and are often rendered functionally powerless through the denial of legal and political rights. Furthermore, this research underscores the importance of integrating the emotional and political dimensions of war as articulated through contemporary artistic practices. It advocates for a gender-sensitive approach to understanding and addressing the multifaceted impact of conflict on all bodies, including those beyond the human sphere.