an escape from the unbearable feeling of powerlessness .
“ All I can do is to draw and donate to the army . When I draw , at least it feels like I ’ m doing something .” Hence she decided to collaborate with various Ukrainian companies . One of the main projects she is engaged in now is an online Museum of War , a project launched by the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation .
Artists like Tania have been asked to create illustrations which would accompany an authentic news piece from Ukrainian modern history . The museum sells the art pieces as digital assets called
non-fungible |
tokens |
( NFTs ). |
The |
funds |
raised |
are |
directed |
entirely to the Ministry |
’ s official crypto-accounts |
, which will be |
used to support the |
army |
and |
civilians . |
Apart from the financial aid , the goal of the collection is to preserve and treasure the real history of Ukraine , including the most tragic events . Despite the emotional exhaustion that comes with producing these astonishing pieces , the process of creating them also serves as self-therapy .
TANIA YAKUNOVA , BUCHA . MOTHER .
“ I was in pain and anger , especially when the evidence from Bucha started coming out ,” says Tania . “ It was so overwhelming that I could not do anything but cry . The following day , I started drawing .” Then , something clicked , and she realised how many ideas have been in her mind .
Tania ’ s perception of the invasion resonated with the audience . “ For some people , it is too difficult to look at all of those horrible photos , so maybe the illustrations are the way to document the war .” The feedback from Yakunova ’ s followers shows that her pieces have raised money and international awareness . With the audience mostly from the UK , US , and Europe , she manages to
spread authorised information instead of news circulated by Russian propaganda .
When asked about the favourite piece of her work , Yakunova looks away , falls silent for a few seconds , and refuses to make this choice . Instead , she shows me an illustration titled Bucha . Mother ., which portrays a woman and her child on fire . “ This is the most emotional one , but I won ’ t say it ’ s my favourite .” Immediately , I understand how inappropriate my question was .
Yakunova shared Bucha . Mother . on her Instagram with a call for speaking out about the genocide in Ukraine . “ Believe me , we have more than news . I have seen many more images than the ones in the official media .” Ukrainians have seen many more dead children and heard more testimonies of raped women than the international audience . Additionally , they were likely to know those victims .
“ I felt so much hate that needed to be released ,” explained Yakunova when asked about the reason for covering such a heavy topic as the genocide in Bucha . She “ had to ” illustrate this tragedy , this was not preceded by a detailed plan . It has been Tania ’ s way of coping with frustration , anger , and helplessness . Unfortunately , Yakunova is not very optimistic about the fast end of the war and she expects that her illustrations will have to be a form of self-therapy for years .
However , a gleam in Tania ’ s eye does not let you lose hope . Despite the warnings from the Mayor of Kyiv , Vitali Klitschko , Yakunova and her husband came back to the capital as soon as the city ’ s suburbs were liberated . And they were not the only ones . “ People want to go home so badly . Everyone is coming back to Kyiv . There is still a traffic jam to enter the city , which only proves how homesick we are .”
Suddenly , a loud siren goes off on Tania ’ s phone interrupting her response to the next question . She turns it off slowly and explains that we only have about ten minutes before she needs to go to the shelter . Someone unexpectedly opens the door , and a low male voice delivers a forceful message to Tania . Yakunova stands up , grabs her laptop , and calmly announces that they need to take me to the bathroom . “ This is our shelter , and this is our dog ,” she says with a laugh .
Tania is curled up on the bathroom floor with the dog on her lap as we near the end of the meeting . “ I want all of my pictures to be seen to raise awareness . That ’ s all I can do .”
Who knows how many illustrations will be created while sitting on the bathroom floor ?
You can find more of Tania ’ s artwork via her Instagram account @ anni _ tett .
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