Ukraine / "leave me alone."

Created by APOLLO / Arts & Performance Art, Lingual Literacy, Raising Awareness

2-minute read

- Current crisis in Ukraine
- Timeline and reasoning
​- Raising Awareness through Digital Art

"leave me alone." - Dead Seagull (dead_seagull_ on Instagram)

​APOLLO ART ΞXCHANGE

The following work is a handpicked piece from the full Apollo Art Archive.

In the early morning of the 24th of February, 2022 Russia began a full-scale invasion of their sovereign neighbor Ukraine. At 03:00 GMT the assault began in Donbass as Vladimir Putin warned the world that any attempt to interfere would cause “consequences they have never before seen”.

Vladimir Putin’s goal is quite clear. He states this invasion “aims to protect people who have been bullied and subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.” Despite failing to define what constitutes “genocide”, Putin goes on to state that Russia strives for the “de-militarization” and “de-Nazification” of Ukraine.

One must ask themselves why the heavily inflated rhetoric of words like “genocide” and “Nazi” are being used to justify such a violent assault on this sovereign country. Perhaps the leader of Russia knows of the possibility that his words may create an emotional reaction which blinds his opponents from casting any blame on these actions?

After all, shouldn’t we fight Nazis?

Our background is the Ukrainian flag of two horizontal bands of the yellow and blue which represent the symbolic combination of the yellow fields and blue sky across the lands. We note this duality driving the stylized form of many other elements in the spatial composition.

It's hard not to notice the red within this work. These may remind of the drops of blood as they sit in scattered form across the canvas.

Why do you think our subject has such a surreal shape and form? It's almost as if she's mangled by the chaotic which confronts us all in this moment we simultaneously share.

We see a variation of the traditional masks from Japanese culture with an open third eye. What do you think this symbolizes? 

Watch carefully when evil surfaces; Do not escape or cower in fear from the threat which faces you

We’re currently witnessing the largest invasion since WWII... What’s next?

Although Dead Seagull received a showcase just yesterday we find it incredibly important to showcase this work today. One may criticize this move as propaganda or the appropriation of the arts to serve political purposes, and if that be the case, then Apollo promises no apology.

We cannot sit quietly when hell stands burning at our doorstep.

Overall this historic and horrific digital illustration presents a lone portraiture whose third eye watches carefully as Russia invades Ukraine to the calamitous cries of over 40 million innocent civilians

"leave me alone."

Dead Seagull
(dead_seagull_ on Instagram)

What do you see when you view this piece?