Collaboration with CLEW

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This design was made for the the Ukrainian brand CLEW specifically for the Ukraine Independence day.

An illustration referencing Archangel Michael (the traditional patron saint of Kyiv and defender of justice) slaying a serpent, but here the rider is a young woman wearing a vyshyvanka and knight’s armor. The fact that the embroidered shirt is hidden beneath the armor shows that historical memory and culture are the foundation, the bedrock upon which all our strength rests. Culture gives meaning to the struggle (what we are fighting for), while the armor is the instrument of that struggle. In turn, the metal of the armor protects the embroidered shirt itself from “desecration.” The white horse—and horses in general—symbolize the free Ukrainian steppe, freedom, and the Cossacks. The serpent is a crawling, filthy creature associated with the underworld or a swamp. It is a visual metaphor for the clash of two civilizations: the winged/steppe civilization (freedom) and the crawling/swamp civilization (imperial slavery).

 

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