Mixed media on board, 2023

I’m affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine for many reasons. I have family and relatives in both Russia and Ukraine, and what’s happening is more than painful.

Of course, I can’t forget about that or just stop thinking about war, that’s how Lord of the Flies came up, and now this work – Justice.

For this collage, I used pictures from different catalogues and books. Putin is sitting on the tank holding 2 guns, ready to attack and kill. However, the world is watching (the eye) and standing with Ukraine. On the background, you can see a person in hand cuffs and silhouettes of women. They are fragments from Klimt’s sketches for his painting Jurisprudence with Justice, Law and Truth.

A woman with a sward that stops Putin is Justice. She is fighting Putin and protecting everything behind her. Dogs and cats form one front line, blocking Putin from moving any further. The dogs represent Ukrainian army as dogs traditionally served people to protect their territories. The cats on the top are turned upside down. Usually, cats and dogs don’t get along together well, but here they are fighting together. The cats represent Freedom of Russia Legion, a group of Russian citizens opposing the regime of Vladimir Putin and invasion of Ukraine.

9 x 12 in, framed