In pictures: Ukrainian sculptor turns Moscow-Kiev war debris into art

From within the debris of Russia’s attacks, Ukraine’s most famous sculptor was compelled to make a dark artistic pivot the day his own country house was ravaged by a Russian strike.

"It happened by accident, it happened when a missile came into our house, our dacha … and my neighbours gathered the debris from the missile," Mikhail Reva said, via a translator.

"And the idea came to my mind to make a metaphor of those debris."

Two years into the war, the Odessa native has not rested in transforming over two tonnes of war debris — spiked Kalashnikov cartridges, bullets and arresting crumpled shells — into art that expresses his homeland’s suffering.

The often monumental sculptures serve as challenging and emotional reminders of the vital role of art in expressing the inexpressible.

Displayed in France

The wrought iron works, some with delicate wings, others religious and ironic, are on display in the US Embassy’s storied Hotel de Talleyrand in Paris, as part of an initiative by the United States to reengage with the Paris-based UN cultural agency, UNESCO, which it rejoined last year after a years-long hiatus.

It’s also an effort to highlight important voices in the war which has seen a loss of life on an unimaginable scale.

"In any long war you can get complacent, and art has the power to transcend, to make you stop and make you remember it’s about individuals," said Jean Manes, the chargé d'affaires for the US Mission to UNESCO.

"It has the ability to make you see it again, see it with fresh eyes."

More sinister tale

Compelled to transform the incomprehensible destruction into something meaningful, Reva created 2023’s “The Flower of Death,” utilising rocket fragments from the actual strike on his house.

"As an artist, it was quite challenging for me when I learned about the attack on the dacha to understand how I can translate the pain in my artistic method. It was the big question," he said.

Reva was famous long before his art took a darker turn. His famously whimsical sculptures have been seen by millions and in prominent squares and beaches in Odessa, Kiev and beyond.

However, the relentless conflict has compelled his artwork to narrate a more sinister tale — one of endurance and remembrance amid the atrocities of the conflict.

From Russia with love

"The Memory of the Crucified," stands out in the collection, its form a cross composed of nails recovered from churches obliterated by Russian attacks.

This piece, along with “Aggressor,” a boldly sexualised sculpture featuring a missile provocatively positioned, captures the profound essence of defiance against aggression.

"I see (the materials) as something that humanity has created to take somebody’s life ... I wanted to show that I can make something beautiful from something that was made to kill," he added.

Reva, with a touch of humor, noted, “All of these pieces are from Russia with love.”