Alexandra Hunts born in Ukraine on the verge of the Soviet Union's collapse and having later relocated to Europe, her identity reflects a distinct blend of East and West. The artistic exploration revolves around the often-overlooked facets of the transition from Soviet-style communism to a market economy, with a particular emphasis on the economic dynamics between East and West, technology, and manual labor. Hunts weaves threads of Soviet ideology, principles of physics, and industrial sensibilities into each of her projects, addressing profound questions of meaning, time, and boundaries—all deeply rooted in personal heritage.

Stefaniia Bodnia is a Ukrainian designer based in The Hague, where she graduated from the Royal Academy of Art. For the past year's she has developed an independent practice on the cross-section of art, (geo-)politics, research and design. She employs the skills in graphics and conceptual thinking to produce publications, installations, and visual communication. Her exploration focuses on themes of geopolitical dynamics between the West and East, and the intersection of materiality with geology, technology and power structures.

The works provides an insight into the post-industrial landscape of war-affected eastern Ukraine and illuminates the voices of the materials extracted from this region. It traces the chain of extraction, starting with coal mining in the region, followed by black metallurgy, and production of neon gas as a by-product of steel industry — first for military purposes, later as a key component of semiconductor production. Before 2022, almost a half of the world's neon was produced in Ukraine. However, the war has interrupted the supply by shutting down large production facilities including Mariupol.