UKRAINE-CRISIS/PUTIN-ART Ukrainian artist uses 5000 bullet cases to create portrait of Russian president

Record ID: 146091

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/PUTIN-ART Ukrainian artist uses 5000 bullet cases to create portrait of Russian president
  • Date: 27th July 2015
  • Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (RECENT) (REUTERS) UKRAINIAN ARTIST DARIA MARCHENKO SPEAKING AS SHE STANDS BY HER PORTRAIT CREATION OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, ENTITLED 'FACE OF WAR' CLOSE OF PORTRAIT, WITH SHADOWS GROWING AS MARCHENKO OFF CAMERA MANIPULATES LIGHT SHINING ON PORTRAIT CLOSE OF PUTIN'S EYE IN PORTRAIT, WITH SHADOWS MOVING LIGHT CHANGING SHADOWS ACROSS PORTRAIT OF VLADIMIR PUTIN (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) UKRAINIAN ARTIST, DARIA MARCHENKO, SAYING: "For me the face of war is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, because he gives out these orders and these lies. But with the help of this picture I would like to show that in any case everyone sees everything and to show not only to him, but to all of society as well that war means lives." PORTRAIT OF PUTIN, 'FACE OF WAR' CLOSE OF EYES MADE OF EMPTY BULLET CARTRIDGE CASES (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) UKRAINIAN ARTIST, DARIA MARCHENKO, SAYING: "I understood that if I get too involved would think too deeply whether for example this shell murdered a man or did not murder, whether it killed a man or not - it is clear that I had this thought - but I cannot think about this and at the same time think about how to create the facial expression of the tyrant more ambiguous, or create the composition in the way that it should be." BULLET CASES (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) UKRAINIAN ARTIST, DARIA MARCHENKO, SAYING: "I have a desire to see in a person not only a tyrant, but maybe some complex or to find a reason. I do not understand why, what for, how - because one can go into history of mankind in a good manner, one can be a personality which does not think about money alone. In my 'Face of War' the eyes are made of gold not just like that, the gold shells also have an implication." PUTIN'S PORTRAIT CLOSE OF GOLD COLOURED BULLET CASES FORMING EYE IN PORTRAIT MARCHENKO LOOKING AT PORTRAIT MARCHENKO PLACING BULLET CASING AGAINST PORTRAIT MARCHENKO TALKING, HOLDING CASE NEAR PORTRAIT EMPTY BULLET CARTRIDGE CASES IN PILE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) UKRAINIAN ARTIST, DARIA MARCHENKO, SAYING: "If I were to say that I have aged, I would not be lying. It took a great deal of strength. I will need to recover and this energy is very heavy." PORTRAIT BULLET CASES INSIDE BUCKET AND STREWN ON THE FLOOR VARIOUS OF MARCHENKO ARRANGING BULLET CASES ONTO AN IMAGE DEPICTING TRADITIONAL UKRAINIAN EMBROIDERY MARCHENKO EMBROIDERY WITH CASINGS ON TOP RANGE OF CARTRIDGES MARCHENKO HOLDING HAND HELD LIGHT MARCHENKO SMILING AS SHE MOVES LIGHT MARCHENKO SHINING LIGHT ONTO PIECE ENTITLED 'PRICE OF INDEPENDENCE' VARIOUS OF 'PRICE OF INDEPENDENCE', DEPICTING UKRAINIAN FLAG AND FIELD OF WHEAT UNDER BLUE SKY CLOSE OF LARGE CASING MARCHENKO SHINING LIGHT ONTO ART PIECE DETAIL OF 'PRICE OF INDEPENDENCE'
  • Embargoed: 11th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADS7M9BO1Q6O6V6MB147RYRZQ3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ukrainian artist Daria Marchenko is gaining fame for turning the often ugly remnants of war into creative works of art.
    Marchenko's latest offering to the public is a large portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin created with 5,000 bullet cartridges brought from the frontline in eastern Ukraine onto a canvas that is over two metres high.
    Marchenko uses a hand held light to bring life to her piece, with shadows dancing and elongating across the Russian president's face.
    The artist says she intended for the piece entitled 'Face of War' to show Putin peering down at observers, as well as reflecting the energy of war.
    "For me the face of war is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, because he gives out these orders and these lies. But with the help of this picture I would like to show that in any case everyone sees everything and to show not only to him, but to all of society as well that war means lives," Marchenko told Reuters TV at her studio in Kiev.
    The artist says her piece can portray a series of emotions, including evil, regret and pride. She says the work continues to surprise her with new faces, despite her labour of half a year creating it.
    Bullet cartridges for 'Face of War' were collected from the town of Maryinka, Pisky village, grounds of Donetsk airport, Shyrokyne and the town of Ilovaisk, which have suffered some of the worst battles between Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists since April last year.
    Marchenko says the particular stories that come with the tools she uses for her work can bear a heavy effect on her creative process.
    "I understood that if I get too involved would think too deeply whether for example this shell murdered a man or did not murder, whether it killed a man or not - it is clear that I had this thought - but I cannot think about this and at the same time think about how to create the facial expression of the tyrant more ambiguous, or create the composition in the way that it should be."
    All the casings used for her work have been sourced from areas that were under the control of the Ukrainian government.
    Marchenko says she researched the subject of her work thoroughly before attempting to commit him onto canvas. The artist says she hopes to portray a complex personality.
    "I have a desire to see in a person not only a tyrant, but maybe some complex or to find a reason. I do not understand why, what for, how - because one can go into history of mankind in a good manner, one can be a personality which does not think about money alone. In my 'Face of War' the eyes are made of gold not just like that, the gold shells also have an implication."
    The portrait consists of at least eight different types of bullet cartridges, in a variety of colours with some corroded and others looking gold. The artist says she worked hard to preserve the colours of the cartridges as they were received by her.
    'Face of War' was shared over 4,000 times on the social media network Facebook on the first day that Marchenko revealed it.
    But the artist says despite the positive response her art has garnered, the body of her work has affected her in the last year.
    "If I were to say that I have aged, I would not be lying. It took a great deal of strength. I will need to recover and this energy is very heavy."
    'Face of War' is the first piece in a series of five works that will be presented to the public. The series will also include piece entitled 'Brain of War', 'Heart of War', 'Spirit of War' and another item that will be announced at the very end of Marchenko's project. The creative works will use parts of bombs, grenades, grad shells and other weapons that have been used in the frontline.
    The portrait of Russian President Putin will be displayed accompanied by a novel which will tell personal stories of six people who helped Marchenko collect shells from the frontline and how they have fought against separatists in the east.
    Marchenko, who was born in the Ukrainian capital, has previously worked with 3-D graphic modelling and 3-D optical illusions. In a previous project the artist painted five of her large-scale optical illusions as murals on buildings in the Ukrainian cities of Cherkasy, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and others. Some reaching a height of nine meters.
    The artist first began using shells in her work after her partner began collecting them for her in Kiev's Independence Square, or Maidan, where a revolt began that ousted former President Viktor Yanukovich. Her first piece was dedicated to the battles in Maidan.
    Marchenko's previous works have been presented in Belgium, Germany and in New York during Fashion Week.
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