This photograph was taken in 2018 — years before the full-scale war.
It shows a wrinkled image with the words “Love Ukraine!” lying in the dirt, surrounded by cigarette butts and dry leaves.
At that time, it felt like a quiet metaphor — a reflection of how national identity was often dismissed, taken for granted, or buried under layers of indifference.

After 2022, this image became painfully prophetic.
What was once an unnoticed symbol of neglect turned into a haunting reminder of everything we lost — and everything we rediscovered.
The call to “Love Ukraine” is no longer abstract. It has become a matter of survival, memory, and belonging.

This work speaks about identity not as something decorative, but as something we must reclaim — sometimes through pain, sometimes through war.