Hope for Ukraine by Pedro de Andrade Nunes
Painting
2.5 x 1.87 m
Donated by Ukraine in 2023
With:
Ioulia Shukan, teacher and researcher at the University of Paris-Nanterre and sociologist specialising in political and social movements in Ukraine
Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (2019-2024)
Sound archive: Pedro de Andrade Nunes
Music interpreted by the Orchestra of the Kharkiv National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet and by Thierry Huillet, in an arrangement by Christophe Guyard
To find out more:
Ioulia Shukan, Génération Maïdan. Vivre la crise ukrainienne, Éditions de l’Aube, 2016
Transcription
Opening titles: L’Atelier de l'Europe, discovering the Council of Europe’s art collection.
Hope for Ukraine by Pedro de Andrade Nunes. Painting. Donated by Ukraine in 2023. With Ioulia Shukan and Marija Pejčinović Burić, and from the sound archives, the voice of Pedro de Andrade Nunes.
Ioulia Shukan: Looking at this work, you see a young woman. I think the colours make it clear where she comes from. She’s Ukrainian. There is some yellow, even if it is not the main colour, there’s still a lot of yellow. And lots of blue. We see a woman, a committed citizen in the face of Russian military aggression and responding to the call for action. With one arm raised, she seems poised for resistance, for taking a stand. She’s not a fighter – well in any case, she’s not in uniform here. But we can imagine her joining up, or playing an important role behind the lines, as so many other Ukrainian women have done, helping fellow citizens and supporting the troops.
Marija Pejčinović Burić: The Council of Europe faced an unprecedented challenge when one of its member states, the Russian Federation, launched a senseless and intolerable war against another member state, Ukraine, on 24 February 2022.
Ioulia Shukan: Russia’s military invasion was a continuation of events and the war that, for Ukraine, had begun in 2014.
Marija Pejčinović Burić: Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022. Since the beginning of the war of aggression, we have stood by Ukraine. The donation of this work by Ukraine is a powerful symbol of the ties that bind us and of our determination to restore peace and obtain justice for the Ukrainian people. (Music by the Orchestra of the Kharkiv National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet). The artist Pedro de Andrade Nunes actually began painting this piece here in the Palais de l'Europe on 12 October 2022. His performance was accompanied by musicians and singers from the Kharkiv National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. At first glance, the painter seems to have portrayed the woman in a state of fear and anguish. But if you look closely at the way she holds her head and the set of her jaw, beneath this apparent fragility you can see strength, courage, determination and dignity. She represents all of Ukraine, and that humanity is what I find so moving. (Song and music by the Orchestra of the Kharkiv National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet).
Ioulia Shukan: Red is also used: the colour of blood. It looks like she might have a wound on her arm because there’s blood running down it. Well, in any case, the notion of death is certainly present. I think red is used to represent the violence endured. But this woman, though stained with her own blood or the blood of those she has helped, is not just enduring this suffering. I think that she symbolises the Ukrainian resistance to this attack, the resistance that this people put up and continue to put up to the Russian troops.
Marija Pejčinović Burić: This work was donated to the Council of Europe on 11 October 2023, at a ceremony including speeches by the Ukrainian Ambassador Borys Tarasyuk, the head of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation Marie Mezentseva and the artist Pedro de Andrade Nunes.
Sound archives - Pedro de Andrade Nunes: This piece is a humble tribute to the women of Ukraine who either in silent or outspoken courage remain a stronghold of hope. Under a deceptively fragile image, even kindness, strength and courage surface.
[French]: Cette œuvre est un modeste hommage aux femmes d'Ukraine qui, par leur courage silencieux ou exprimé, demeurent un bastion d'espoir. Sous une image faussement fragile surgissent la bonté, la force et le courage.
Sound archives - Pedro de Andrade Nunes: The purpose of this piece is not to depict an absence of fear. Instead, it is meant to highlight an unequivocal will to overcome. That is courage. A woman emerges from the wild nature holding fiercely to a nation and to its people. The time is now and she won’t give up.
[French]: Cette œuvre n'a pas pour objectif de dépeindre une absence de peur. Elle vise plutôt à mettre en évidence une volonté sans équivoque de vaincre ce courage. C'est cela le courage. Une femme émerge de la nature sauvage et s'accroche farouchement à une nation et à son peuple. Le moment est venu et elle n'abandonnera pas. Gloire à l'Ukraine !
Sound archives - Pedro de Andrade Nunes: Glory to Ukraine, слава Україні! Thank you. (Applause).
Ioulia Shukan: L’espoir pour l'Ukraine, hope for Ukraine, certainly embodies this hope of victory and of rebuilding Ukraine.
Marija Pejčinović Burić: The Council of Europe has established a Register of Damage for Ukraine, the first step in setting up a future compensation mechanism. The register also brings hope that Ukraine will obtain justice for the crimes committed by the Russian Federation, and so the Council of Europe launched the Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction Action Plan for Ukraine.
Ioulia Shukan: Reconstruction is not only about victory. In Ukraine, reconstruction is well under way, and civilian populations are returning very quickly to all the liberated territories. People want to come home and reconstruction is helping to modernise Ukraine. Ukraine is striving to follow the process of alignment with European standards. By applying for membership of the European Union, it is on the road to accession and has demonstrated its desire for a modern Ukraine, a European Ukraine and its place as an EU member.
Closing credits: That was Hope for Ukraine by Pedro de Andrade Nunes. A Council of Europe podcast, created by Charlotte Roux, Antoine Auger and Anne Kropotkine. With Ioulia Shukan, political scientist, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and from the sound archives, the voice of Pedro de Andrade Nunes. Other episodes are available on the Council of Europe website. (Music: the European Anthem by Thierry Huillet, arranged by Christophe Guyard)
