Parallel War 

On March 4, 2022, shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russian government unleashed an unprecedented campaign of pressure on Russians opposed to the war. The State Duma hastily passed a law banning public "discreditation" of the actions of the armed forces, effectively outlawing any statements that differ from the official point of view.

The punishment is up to 15 years in prison.

This law is now used as a tool for political repressions in Russia. Anti-war demonstrations are banned. People who publicly show their disapproval risk getting beaten up by the police and losing their jobs. The use of anti-war symbols, the laying of flowers and clothing in the colors of the Ukrainian flag have all become a prosecutable offense.

In parallel, the authorities are blocking independent media and social networks. Journalists are forbidden from calling the war a war. Dozens of publications are blocked in Russia. Anti-war activists are being prosecuted en masse. Over 15000 people have been arrested during anti-war protests and demonstrations across Russia.

This project aims to expose repression of free speech. It also is a way to process accompanying feelings of fear, injustice and helplessness.

This is a series of habitual, everyday objects found in the streets of New York and California.

Innocent and coincidential, they suddenly get charged with political protest if transferred to the setting of modern Russia. Mundane and mostly invisible in normal life, they draw up attention, warning and are forced to get altered or even destroyed in the context of war against free speech.

Their very existence becomes impossible.

A protester holding 'Stop the war' sign with all letters covered by asterisks.
A bike with yellow tires and a blue frame parked in the street.
A side of a blue house with a bright yellow door.
A blue postal box next to a yellow newspaper box in the street.
A children's playground painted in blue and yellow.
A closeup of a children's swing it blue and yellow color.
A closed storefront taped shut with blue and yellow tape.
A blue and yellow sponge on the kitchen counter next to the sink.
A blue and yellow trash can in the street.
A man wearing dark sunglasses, a yellow hoodie and a blue jacket.
A blue and yellow plant box.
A blue and yellow graffiti on a wall.
Two feet wearing black sneakers and blue socks with yellow banana images on them.
A blue car parked right behind a yellow one in the street.
A blue and yellow children's toy.
A blue and yellow children's bucket toy lying in the sand.
A blue and yellow windmill at a mini golf court.
A yellow house next to the blue house in Los Angeles, California.
A protester holding a sign "No to War" written in Russian on a white sheet of paper.

This project is an attempt to process the nonsensical.

References

1. Police forces a woman in Pskov to repaint her blue-and-yellow fence

2. Petersburg artist is facing 10 years in prison for changing store price tags for anti-war appeals

3. Omsk resident is fined for discrediting the army for damaging a pro-war banner

4. A criminal case is opened against a teacher for expressing an alternative point of view to the Russian-Ukrainian war

5. In the Volgograd region, an 11-year-old child was put on a preventive record for “discrediting” the Russian army on social media

And so many more...

Using Format