The Blanket Sculpture, plaster cast, acrylic paint, 2023
On the 24th of February 2022, the Russian army invaded the territory of Ukraine and started a war. The cities were destroyed, and thousands of people lost their homes and were forced to relocate, leaving their lives behind. Thousands of people died and got injured. Since the beginning of the war, more than 496 Ukrainian children died due to Russian aggression, more than 1564 children got injured, and more than 19596 children were relocated to Russia without their parents' agreement. The bodies of the children that died during the Russian bomb attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages are often found covered in colourful blankets. The blankets are an attribute of everyday life and should give one a feeling of safety. We cover ourselves to feel warm, safe and protected. We wrap ourselves with blankets when we feel sick and want to feel better. In this work, the blankets lost their original function. War art is usually dark, but Maria Vashchuk wanted to show the contrast of perception juxtaposing ordinary things (like a blanket we all have at home) and horrible things happening just 2000 km away.
Once warm and cozy the blanket now lost its original function.
Audio fragment – Lars Lobert.
The work has been shown during the exhibition ART FOR LIBERATION 16 September - 27 October 2023 in de Koepel, Haarlem, the Netherlands.
See video of the installation in de Koepel here
