UPD [08/28/2024] James Colomina has revealed the latest work in a series created for the Independence Day of Ukraine. This is the second work that the artist placed on Maidan Nezalezhnosti.
Along with his work in the form of a clockwork pigeon, Colomina posted on Instagram a drawing in Taras Shevchenko Park: he used red paint to draw the hopscotch line markings on the tiles in the shape of a rocket.
UPD [08/27/2024] The fourth of five works by James Colomina in Kyiv was placed on the roof of the ‘Universitet’ subway station
This time, the sculpture features a girl with a heart in her hands and a bear toy next to her.
UPD [26.08.2024] James Colomina showed two more works he created in Kyiv for the Independence Day of Ukraine. One of them was placed on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard, and the second — on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, on the bridge above the Heavenly Hundred Heroes Alley.
The artist created the sculpture on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard in place of the monument to Soviet commander Mykola Shchors, demolished in December 2023. Colomina’s work depicts a girl planting sunflowers on the remains of the pedestal.
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The second work features a girl, too, but already wearing a helmet. She is sitting on a swing hanging from the bridge above the Heavenly Hundred Heroes Alley.
In total, James Colomina presented three of the five works planned for creation in Kyiv. The whereabouts of the last two works have not yet been disclosed.
Original news [23.08.2024] For the Independence Day of Ukraine, the artist presented a new sculpture on the Central Post Office building on Maidan Nezalezhnosti. It is a sculpture of a child created in red — a signature element of Colomina’s works — who emerges from the wall of the building and draws a trident on the facade.
The Ukraine Media Center explained that the character from the work ‘symbolizes the messenger who has come to support Ukraine at the site honoring Ukrainian heroes’.
The sculpture on the Central Post Office building is one of five works that James Colomina has planned to install in Kyiv. The other four will be installed in the next few days.
‘My work in Ukraine aims to denounce the injustice of this war and show my unwavering support for the Ukrainian people suffering because of this imposed conflict’, hromadske quoted the artist as saying.
This is not James Colomina’s first work on the topic of russia’s war against Ukraine.
In 2022, he presented a red statue of volodymyr putin on a mini-tank first in parks in Paris and Barcelona, and then in New York’s Central Park. The work was placed in the middle of sandboxes in playgrounds.
According to the artist, he dedicated the installation to children suffering because of the absurdity of war and their courage.
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Toulouse-based artist and sculptor James Colomin has been called the ‘Banksy of sculpture’ because of the similar social overtones of both artists’ works and approach to their presentation.
Thus, Colomina’s works, accented by the monochromatic red color Rouge Colomina, are secretly placed in urban spaces around the world. In them, the artist reveals themes of the brutality of the contemporary world and its problems, including violence, environmental and climate damage, political issues or high-profile events.
