The art project “Flowers of mine zones”, 2023

TRANSFORMATION OF A MILITARY FACILITY INTO AN ART OBJECT, 2022

History of one RPG
RPG-18 “Fly” – the first Soviet hand-held rocket-propelled anti-tank grenade. It is designed to fight tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery mounts and other armored targets of the enemy, and can also be used to destroy enemy manpower located in light shelters and urban-type structures. Adopted by the Soviet army in 1972.

It was this RPG that was created in 1975, when I was 5 years old. When I painted this RPG, certain thoughts arose in my head.
How many weapons were created during this time, it had to fire sooner or later. During the collapse of the Union, we gave away nuclear weapons, then the weapons were sold, destroyed. And we were left defenseless.
You can spend your freedom less than the one who is not able to protect you.
Voltaire

The war began in 2014, it was this used RPG that was taken from the Donetsk Airport. This artifact came to me from the cyborg defender of the airport, which was delivered to him after being wounded by the fighters. I turn a used military RPG into a peaceful art object. This weapon has spanned my life from creation to use to transformation.

I draw flowers, it’s like a memory of the people who died on our land: children, civilians, military.
Flowers are also the beginning of a new life, peaceful life, birth, renewal and prosperity of our Ukraine.

I on renovation land
There will be no enemy, adversary,
And be son, and be mother,
I will be people on earth
Shevchenko T.G.

Thank you for the song Kolaba & Oleg Lakhman, words echoed in me with every cell.
I used this song “Leto without war” when creating the video.