Superfluous Women: Art, Feminism, and Revolution in Twenty-First-Century Ukraine

"This book introduces many important urban struggles going on in Ukrainian art and activism to an anglophone audience."

Vira Sachenko, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, KULT_online

"Superfluous Women: Art, Feminism, and Revolution in Twenty-First-Century Ukraine is a significant study of the direct links between political context, protest actions, and art practices in this century … Zychowicz does not hesitate to introduce the reader to the complexities and ambiguities of the struggles for rights."

Irina Genova, Aspasia

"Superfluous Women offers a valuable new contribution to the scarce English-language bibliography on contemporary Ukrainian art activism. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has sparked worldwide interest in Ukrainian history and culture, Zychowicz’s book gains an even more important role."

Halyna Kohut, Ivan Franko National University, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte

"Superfluous Women is remarkable for its blend of erudite theory, close analysis of visual culture, and personal experience. The author’s first-hand engagement with the people and events she discusses facilitates a unique and well-balanced insight that any scholar of contemporary Slavonic studies should welcome."

Kathleen Mitchell-Fox, Princeton University, Slavonic and East European Review

"Superfluous Women is clearly a labor of empathy and solidarity with Ukrainians, and the inter-revolutionary generation in particular. As a path-blazing study on the topic, it should be valued as the result of a decade’s worth of intellectual production, which included numerous research trips and prolonged periods of work in the region, amassing an archive, as well as the work of cultural diplomacy, translating and representing Ukrainian artists and activists in the West."

Sasha Razor, H-SHERA

"[Zychowicz] introduces several important art projects and movements that are indicative of a unique time in Ukraine’s post-independence history. The author’s connection with the artists through interviews enhances the images and descriptions of works of art, manifestos, and political responses—including repressions of artists—that make up much of the book’s content."

Emily Channell-Justive, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, H-Ukraine, H-Net Reviews

"Jessica Zychowicz’s Superfluous Women: Art, Feminism, and Revolution in Twenty-First-Century Ukraine is a groundbreaking study of feminist protest and how it is mediated in contemporary Ukraine. Examining the decade between 2004’s Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity (2013–14), Zychowicz traverses a dazzling array of media, objects, and methods to reveal the vibrant histories of feminist collectives in Ukraine—from the infamous Femen and its media strategies to Ofenzywa’s engagement with photography to the work of the curatorial collectives HudRada and REP. Zychowicz herself is present throughout, as an interlocutor, archivist, and guide whose bracing prose will make this study an invaluable resource for readers in Slavic studies, feminist studies, and visual and media studies alike."

MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Studies in Slavic Languages and Literatures Committee

"[Zychowicz] seeks to examine the way feminism, as a concept and a set of practices, has shaped and continues to shape the political and cultural landscape of Ukraine … it will reach a welcome audience among scholars of feminism, art activism, contemporary art, cultural studies, and Slavic studies."

Mayhill C. Fowler, The Russian Review

"Drawing attention to the protest spirit evident in Ukrainian society since the early 2000s as the consequence of the rejection of its bigger neighbor’s imperial ideology and aggression, the book reveals the artistic antecedents of Ukraine’s resistance against the Russian invasion in 2022."

Halyna Kohut, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte

"Superfluous Women is a timely and incisive contribution to studies of intersections of art, protest, and feminism. Focusing on artists’ collectives and works linked to protests in Ukraine since 2004, this book provides unique insights into art and activism during and between Ukraine’s Orange Revolution and Maidan Revolution."

Sarah D. Phillips, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University

"Weaving personal reflection, on-the-ground interviews, archival documents, historical context, and theoretical frameworks, Superfluous Women offers a rich historical portrait of the era that will undoubtedly be of great use to future scholars of twenty-first-century art and politics in Ukraine."

Claudette Lauzon, School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University