A radical message to the soldiers

A hundred of pictures created by 16 authors (almost half of the posters were painted by the artist from Perm under pseudonym Paperdaemon. This author mocks at Putin, Novorossia, and fanatics with the ribbon of St. George) are on display at the exhibit. A part of the works carry mottos in Ukrainian language – in such a way the author expresses his respect for Ukrainians.

“The artist hides his name because he has faced the Russian law-enforcers already. He is against the imperial policy of Russia and is the one who created the most radical posters,” the co-curator of the exhibit Yelyzaveta BIELSKA told The Day, “The Paperdaemon has submitted over 200 works to us. The artist finds it important to support Ukraine in such a way.”

Ukrainian warrior is the central hero of the exhibit. On the posters near traditional Cossacks there are “cyborgs” from the Donetsk airport and volunteer soldiers. They depict female volunteers as well. So, Sviatoslav Pashchuk has created a series of posters in pin-up style. But instead of Hollywood stars (like it was in America in the 1950s) Pashchuk’s posters show Ukrainian female activists and nurses. The artists as well alter the images from Soviet posters, combine various symbols: for example, an icon and road signs.

God with a Molotov cocktail, a Cossack with tens of sabers – the heroes of the works created by well-known Ukrainian artist Andrii Yermolenko draw much attention. The master admits that his creative growth was connected with old Polish, Czech, and French posters. “We have a renaissance of poster art in Ukraine. I like the new style without blinkers,” Andrii Yermolenko says, “We should recreate what we have in our soul, live through the poster. If our paintings were dedicated to some hot news, we would have a dull one-day poster. You can’t speculate on the war, you should feel it. The task of any poster is to make people think and act. The rest are nice-looking pictures.”

The winners of the competition include debutants. Website editor Serhii Kryvenko created the work with the slogan “Break the shackles of ‘brother’s love’” at design courses. In the black background there is a chain of colors present in the Russian flag, and a blue-and-yellow link breaks away from it. Kryvenko commented, “People still believe that Ukrainians and Russians are brother nations. But none of my brothers has cut my finger or leg. Brother’s love is a myth, Russians and we should be good neighbors.”

Almost every visitor of the exhibit makes a photo of himself and an installation created by Oleksandr Aleksieiev, Who if not Putin? This is a doll of the Russian president in a cage. “I think Putin in prison is a dream of every Ukrainian. This year we stopped living by the codes of the underworld and started to live according to the laws. And according to the law, Putin must go to prison,” Bielska commented.

Soon the organizers of the competition will print a great number of copies of the winning posters and send them to the front line, so that they reached “every Ukrainian tank.” The co-curator of the project Antin Mukharsky recalls, “I used to serve in the Soviet army. In ‘Lenin’s’ rooms there were always posters with portraits of strong warriors. We, weak soldiers, associated ourselves with them and it increased the morale. So, the poster must encourage and serve as a decoration.”

Incidentally, on December 5 “M17” will hold a charity auction, where the works that are on display at the art center will be sold. The starting price for every item will be 1,000 hryvnias. The money raised will be given for treatment of the ATO soldiers who are staying in the Main Military Clinical Hospital.

The organizers hope that the competition of Ukrainian posters will become an annual event. Bielska emphasizes: “In Soviet time posters were a widespread thing. Now this art is fading away, although it is a mass art which is available to everyone. It is important to revive the Ukrainian poster.”

The exhibit will be open till December 5.