“Thinking about the Enemy” is my reflection on the events that have been unfolding in my country for the past three years. Beyond the headlines, the war in Ukraine has stretched on for a decade. It began in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the initial occupation of Donbas.

On February 24, 2022, at 4:00 AM, I was startled awake by the sound of a military aircraft soaring almost directly over my balcony. The news channels immediately reported that russia had invaded Ukraine. War had erupted. How can art be used to speak about war? How can we explain to the world the russian aggression, which is a direct act of terrorism and genocide against the entire Ukrainian people? How can art be used to truthfully inform the world about all the inhuman crimes committed by russia against Ukraine? The murders, torture, and rapes perpetrated by the so-called “great russian army,” which disregards all humanitarian norms and laws of war in its treatment of civilians and its conduct of warfare in general? Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine, a nation under relentless assault for three years now, valiantly defends its homeland – our cities, our land, our home – despite immense losses.

War changes everything. In the face of russia’s aggression, the myth of “great russian culture” crumbles, revealing its true face: murder, torture, death, and destruction. These collages serve as a stark reminder of how “russian culture” has become (and always has been) an integral part of the vast russian propaganda machine that fuels war and devastation.

The artist employs the medium of collage as a central element in his visual art practice.

My series of collages “Thinking about the Enemy” serves as an opportunity to convey a message to the world and Europe through the language of art, exposing the barbarity of the russian regime and the entire nation of russia. Each collage features a red stain, a metaphorical representation of the blood on the hands of every russian citizen for all the innocent Ukrainians – children, parents, men, and women. For all the tortured Ukrainians who simply wanted to live on their land and defend it. For all the destroyed homes, for all the Ukrainian cities reduced to rubble. I no longer wish to dwell on the enemy, for I believe that the enemy, as the embodiment of great evil, must ultimately be vanquished.

Oleksandr Maksymov
Visual artist, performer, actor, and curator from Drohobych, www.kulturaenter.pl

New works by Drohobych artist Oleksandr Maksymov are on display in the Między Słowami bookshop-café until the end of July! The exhibition by one of the most popular Ukrainian collage artists accompanies Wschodni Express literary panels. Books from this series can be purchased at the bookstore.