Bullets and Flowers

Most of the flowers inside the sculpture were personally gathered by Maria Kulikovska during the summer of 2020 at Arabat Spit. This is a narrow and long strip of land in the northeast part of the Crimean Peninsula, approximately ninety kilometers away from Maria's home. In 2022, Russians initiated a full-scale invasion from this very part of the Crimean Peninsula into northern Ukraine, and today it remains a territory of active military actions. The process of collecting flowers reminded the artist of her carefree childhood. Picking the flowers, the artist seems to return to her occupied home. The spent casings from eastern Ukraine were acquired by the artist on the black market.