# My Heart is a Void, the Void is a Mirror I led the installation of Gian Maria Tosatti's Odesa episode through COVID closures, December cold and a tight deadline. Our team carried more than 20 tonnes of materials through marshland by hand. - Role: Installation Lead: team leadership, site organization, lamp-post installation, electrical work and lighting control. - Status: Completed in 2020 - Status code: completed-in-2020 - Case page: https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation - Reviewed: 2026-09-06 ## Problem An outdoor installation built by hand in winter, with no machinery access. ## Constraints - Less than two weeks to prepare - Less than two weeks for installation - COVID-related shop closures - Cold December conditions at Kuyalnyk - No vehicle or machinery access to the work site - Historic borrowed light fixtures had to be returned intact ## Architecture - Not published. ## Decisions - Lead the installation team - Organize work on site - Oversee installation of the lamp posts - Oversee electrical work - Manage lighting control ## Evidence - Public opening: 14 December 2020, documented by the organizers - Provenance: Public sources. The organizer's project record documents the opening date. - Sources: [https://izolyatsia.org/ua/project/my-heart-is-a-void](https://izolyatsia.org/ua/project/my-heart-is-a-void) - Installation completed on time, from my account as installation lead - Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account. - Sources: None published. - All borrowed light fixtures returned without damage, from my account as installation lead - Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account. - Sources: None published. ## Safety and boundaries - Not published. ## Stack - Installation management - Manual site logistics - Engineering coordination - Electrical installation - Lighting control - Historic fixture handling ## Media No public project image is published in this record. ## Credits - Artist: Gian Maria Tosatti - Episode: Odesa, 2020 - Installation lead: Oleksii Mazur - Curators: Kateryna Filyuk and Alessandra Troncone - Presented by: IZOLYATSIA and The Blank Contemporary Art ## Public sources - [IZOLYATSIA: project and exhibition details](https://izolyatsia.org/ua/project/my-heart-is-a-void) - [Italian Cultural Institute in Kyiv: Italian Council support](https://iickiev.esteri.it/uk/gli_eventi/calendario/presentazione-della-giornata-del-2/) - [Dumskaya: photographs of the completed installation](https://dumskaya.net/news/installyatciya-kuyalnik-foto-video-133415/ua/) - [The Blank: the film with director Lorenzo Quagliozzi](https://www.theblank.it/collaborations/) - [YouTube: Odesa episode video linked by the Reggio Calabria art academy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddFKGgx2bfA) - [Watch the installation film on Facebook: Episodio di Odessa (link supplied by the installation lead)](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DUX7BHpYi/) - [Watch the installation film: owner-supplied MP4 hosted on this portfolio](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/video/episodio-di-odessa.mp4) - [About the artist: Gian Maria Tosatti's portfolio (PDF, 25 MB)](https://www.tosatti.org/%5B_GIAN_MARIA_TOSATTI_%5D.pdf) - [About the artist: Columbia University, The Italian Academy (2016-2017 profile)](https://italianacademy.columbia.edu/directory/gian-maria-tosatti) - [About the artist: Museo Madre, Sette Stagioni dello Spirito exhibition](https://www.madrenapoli.it/en/exhibition/gian-maria-tosatti-selle-stagioni-dello-spirito/) ## Related projects - [lowvoltageplan](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/lowvoltageplan) - [smart-control-website](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/smart-control-website) ## My work on site Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#delivery](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#delivery) I was responsible for the installation team and the organization of work on site. My scope covered the lamp posts, electrical installation and lighting control. Gian Maria Tosatti created the artwork; I led its physical installation in Odesa. Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account. Sources: - None published. ## Two short windows during COVID Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#schedule](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#schedule) We had less than two weeks for preparation and less than two weeks to carry out the installation. Many shops were closed because of COVID restrictions, which made sourcing materials harder. The team had to organize procurement and site work within those windows while working in the December cold. Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account. Sources: - None published. ## More than 20 tonnes, carried by hand Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#logistics](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#logistics) Vehicles and machinery were not allowed into our work site in the Kuyalnyk recreation area. Every load had to reach the installation by hand through the marsh. In total, our team carried more than 20 tonnes of materials across that ground. Moving the materials was a substantial part of the job before they could even be installed. Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account. Sources: - None published. ## Keeping five-metre poles upright Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#engineering](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#engineering) We worked with Italian engineers to develop a support structure that would let the five-metre poles stand in the marshy ground. The installation brought eight illuminated street lamps into this landscape. The structure had to suit the ground and the restrictions on how we could bring materials to the site. Provenance: First-hand account and public sources. The public record supports the eight-lamp installation; the five-metre poles and support-structure engineering are the installation lead's first-hand account. Sources: - [https://izolyatsia.org/ua/project/my-heart-is-a-void](https://izolyatsia.org/ua/project/my-heart-is-a-void) ## Protecting the borrowed 1950s fixtures Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#fixtures](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#fixtures) The light fixtures came from Kyiv's VDNH exhibition complex and dated from the 1950s. They were valuable, heavily insured pieces that had to be installed, then carefully removed and sent back. Preserving them was part of our responsibility throughout the work, including the return after the exhibition. Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account. Sources: - None published. ## On time, with every fixture intact Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#outcome](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#outcome) We finished the installation on time. All the borrowed fixtures were installed, removed and returned without damage. It was demanding work for the whole team. Gian Maria was pleased that we had made it happen, and we received positive feedback on our work. Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account. Sources: - None published. ## Italian Council support Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#support](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#support) The project was supported by Italian Council (7th edition, 2019), a programme of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity at Italy's then Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. IZOLYATSIA and The Blank Contemporary Art presented the work. Provenance: Public sources. Organizers' and cultural-institution records support the project context. Sources: - [https://izolyatsia.org/ua/project/my-heart-is-a-void](https://izolyatsia.org/ua/project/my-heart-is-a-void) - [https://iickiev.esteri.it/uk/gli_eventi/calendario/presentazione-della-giornata-del-2/](https://iickiev.esteri.it/uk/gli_eventi/calendario/presentazione-della-giornata-del-2/) ## The film and the record Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#film](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/tosatti-odesa-installation#film) Director Lorenzo Quagliozzi made a film from the making of the Odesa installation. The Blank describes its origins in the work carried out during the COVID pandemic. I have linked the film about our installation work in Pavel Odesa's Facebook post, titled Episodio di Odessa. The separate YouTube link is a project video, not the full documentary. The schedule, material quantities, engineering collaboration and fixture-handling results above are my first-hand account as installation lead. Provenance: First-hand account and public sources. The Blank documents Lorenzo Quagliozzi's film. The YouTube link is an Odesa episode video, not the full documentary. The installation lead supplied the Facebook link and identified it as the film about the installation; its full contents and credits have not been independently reviewed here. Sources: - [https://www.theblank.it/collaborations/](https://www.theblank.it/collaborations/) - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddFKGgx2bfA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddFKGgx2bfA) - [https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DUX7BHpYi/](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DUX7BHpYi/) - [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/video/episodio-di-odessa.mp4](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/video/episodio-di-odessa.mp4)