Lord’s Army, Heavenly Powers, Cherubim, Altars... ANGELS, these ‘messengers of God’ are called differently in different cultures. No religious tradition can exist without them. Deprived of selfishness and always nearby, invisible or visible – they are ready to serve as ‘mediators’ between us and the Creator being also the emanation of Lord into our lower world – this is how the ANGELOLOGY – teaching about angels explains this phenomenon.
Artists of all times looked up to the image of the Bright Angel forces, and this subject have not bypassed me. Works have been created at different times and in a different manner, as well as different is the ‘purpose’ of angels. But the creative need of an artist, when the image ‘asks’ to be drawn, is pouring in my works onto the canvas in the form of features of people which are recognizable to us – this is a tendency of artists to give similarities to those whom we sympathize, and ANGELS sympathize with us in return, for such is their nature).
Today, at a time of mortal threat, we often seek help and protection in thoughts and prayers. An emblem as a sign of the presence of GOOD, HOPE and TRUTH, this is how I explain this human need to depict, see and live next to a sacral piece of art.
These terrible, without exaggeration, times and our suffering have affected us, artists – the people of emotional character. New images of the Winged were born: angels are not smiling, but are strong and brave, like you and me.
they came to our LAND to destroy it, having known WHAT it means to us, and they thought that those who could flee will die in foreign lands yearning for HOME, which is being burnt by our eternal enemies with all the buildings, forests, birds and with all the grain and clouds over the golden fields. But UKRAINIAN ANGELS defend their people’s LAND, for it being given by God, is impossible to destroy. Angels plow and sow the fields, gather in the crops (since no one can own them) not allowing them to dry and fall asleep in sorrow for those children of the LAND. Kalashnikov on the angel’s shoulder does not seem a platitude to me, it is an analogy with the image of swords in Archistratigus Michael and his army.
TIRED ANGEL steps unarmed, treads heavily over hill and dale, his flaming look and flared face are the weapons. He is not seeing himself as an angel in that work he is forced to do now, he is hiding behind a military cloak the wings that are still white. One can tell that fights take place afar, lead sky is heavy and disturbing. On the horizon, there is an ancient city, after all, the history keeps repeating itself: those envious kill the more successful and happier ones...
Ukraine is the country where even the wind smells like bread. Where, in the silhouette of the horizon of each smallest settlement, there is a church engraved, where each grain fights the resistance of the soil to germinate as a round loaf, and ears of corn in the wind do not make noise, but sing so that birds and angels come from all the heavens of the world to learn. Ukraine is the country that enemies do envy to death and so becoming themselves as food to our infinitely fertile land. Where all the girls and women are very beautiful and men are infinitely brave, where all the children know how to make wreaths for angels, and the elders do not die, they piece out to the sky as stars. CONSECRATION OF BREAD – is the blessing of life itself.
Every killed child is born an ANGEL OF REBIRTH, our guardian angel, as it is closer to God in its prayers. Their LIGHT breaks through the stones of rubble, and spring grass sprouts with the golden wing feathers as a symbol of perseverance and spirit.
/Olga Pogribna-Kokh/
Angels resemble: Yaroslav Dashkevych, Oleh Davydenko, Yuriy Knorozov, Oksana Kostiuk, Toma Prokhasko, Mark Shymonovych, David Todosiichuk, and you, dear viewers...
Special thanks to Yuriy Kokh for allowing the use of his developed art technique: TABLOKARTYNA, presented in 1995.