A cycle of icons painted in the traditional technique of tempera on ammunition boxes. The question raised in this cycle is the possibility for a military-Christian to achieve personal holiness, which is extremely important in the context of the events currently taking place in Ukraine. The central motif of the cycle is the sacrificial willingness to die for the sake of others. The conflict between the commandments «You shall not kill» and commandment to love one`s neighbor is resolved in favor of the last. In this way, the holy warriors painted on the weapon boxes are not so much a symbol and ideal of the Christian knightly culture, but a generalized idea of all those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their neighbor.
The symbolism of the transformation of death into life – the main idea of the project – will receive a new sense, giving hope to those who have been sitting in the trenches for years, protecting Ukrainian cities, villages and towns, women, children and elderly who live in them at the cost of their lives, so that the tragedy of Bucha, Izium and Mariupol does not repeat itself.
The cycle combines the styles of Byzantine, ancient Ukrainian, Gothic and Renaissance art, uniting the artistic tradition of the East and the West.
