Sonia Atlantova | Saint George - SOLD

SONIA ATLANTOVA
Saint George, 2022 

Tempera & gold leaf on wood from Russian ammunition boxes rescued by Ukrainian soldiers from battlefields near Kyiv.

40x35cm / 15.7x13.8 inches

Saint George, one of the most revered saints, is slaying a winged dragon. The board the image is painted on is covered with spots reminiscent of camouflage on the modern military uniform. The windings of the dragon's body suggest the caterpillars of enemy tanks or the furrows gnawed by heavy equipment on Ukrainian land. But the white horse and the mighty warrior on it bring hope, which is now just as necessary for all Ukrainians as weapons for Ukrainian soldiers.

© Sonia Atlantova

Icons on Ammunition Boxes 
From 2015, Ukrainian artists Sonia Atlantova and Olexander Klimenko have been using wooden fragments from ammunition boxes abandoned by Russian soldiers on the battle fields in Ukraine to paint icons and donating all sale proceeds to mobile hospitals that provide urgent medical care to wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in late February, 2022, their work remains more relevant than ever.