This project reflects the harsh reality of the war in Ukraine. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes, heading into the unknown and having to start their life from scratch. Before 2022, few could have predicted that this would be possible in Europe today, although the continent has seen mass displacement many times in the past, especially during World War II. This project might remind citizens of European countries, accepting now Ukrainian refugees, how their own compatriots have been displaced in the past.
I have created transparent human-size figures of refugees walking and carrying their belongings along with them. Some are rolling in wheelchairs, others have children in their arms, still others are dragging carts loaded with luggage. To create these images, I used photos of Ukrainian refugees, mixing them with images of Finnish evacuees from Karelia during the Finnish-Soviet Winter War in 1939, Soviet civilians fleeing from the German army in 1941, and the German population leaving East Prussia and Sudetenland in 1945. Despite some differences in clothes worn and utensils carried, all these images are surprisingly similar.
I traced the images with a thick line (actually, with steel wire) and let it glow in the darkness with the help of UV-light and special paint. The installation consists of dozens of figures, all pictured from their back, moving in one direction. I believe it will be easy for the viewer to imagine himself or herself as one of these refugees, sharing their fatigue, despair but also hope.
Although the figures look three-dimensional, they are flat, standing upright with the help of a simple support construction. UV-light comes from the front, and a desired light perspective emerges, so that the most distant figures almost disappear in the darkness. The soundscape created by Petri Laakso adds to the ambience, mixing refugee stories in different languages with music, sound of steps, hum of flying aircraft and rumble of distant bombing.
The installation can take up to 200m, but can be also compressed to 50m due to its flexibility, it can be displayed indoors and outdoors. Sculptures are resistant to wind, rain and sunshine. There should be as little light as possible in the area nearby – the glowing effect works only in the darkness.
Soundscape: Petri Laakso
Welding: Valerij Sokol
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