Miniature memorial of Russian-Ukrainian war erected by Kolodko in Budapest – PHOTOS

Photo: www.facebook.com/KolodkoArt/

The Hungarian artist, Mihály Kolodko erected a Russian-Ukrainian war memorial under the cover of the night on Monday morning. The tiny statue can be seen on the Moscow promenade in Budapest, along the Danube bend.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has inspired many artists. One of them is the Budapest-based artist of Transcarpathian origin, Mihály Kolodko, who has created a bronze sculpture to commemorate the current events.

As the Hungarian news portal Index reports,

Mihály Kolodko erected a Russian-Ukrainian war memorial under the cover of the night on Monday morning.

The work of art naturally carries its own symbolism: the mini-bronze is placed on a white finger emerging from the ground as a pedestal, and depicts a Russian warship with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the helm.

Kolodko Art1 — Photo: www.facebook.com/KolodkoArt/

According to Kolodko, the days when the making of a statue was determined centrally are over. The Hungarian artist thinks that space should also be given to the interest of artists and people. This is how, for example, the Lamp Lighter Statue was erected in Uzhgorod in 2010 which brought him fame in the world of arts.

Another dimension of public sculpture was born when he found the theme of mini-sculptures, which he believes can have the same dramatic power on the viewer as the giant sculptures that are so much in demand today. This idea inspired the statue in question

that can be seen on the Moscow promenade in Budapest, along the Danube bend.

The artist did not always have a client to carry out his plans. Due to the absence of financial resources, he decided to create his ideas in small so that they would not be lost. The tiny sculptures quickly gained popularity, so much that several have been stolen. The term guerrilla sculpture refers to a sculpture that is displayed in a public space without permission, although at first there was no regulation to do so.

His first guerilla work was inspired by his favorite childhood fairy tale figure. The 15 cm statue is located opposite the Parliament on Halász Street. This series of tales was also important to him because he learned the Hungarian language while watching it – reported by Wikipédia.

Having placed his previous works in the centre of Budapest, Kolodko has also innovated with his choice of location. He found the perfect place for his war memorial, both symbolically and practically, on the banks of the Danube.

The visual drama of the work – and its spiritual essence – is the difference in scale: compared to the tiny warship, the stone finger, sculpted with simple tools, seems gigantic. Here, it is not the Russian party that is the giant and the Ukrainian dwarf in comparison, but the other way round. In Kolodko’s fabulous world, this is not surprising – reported by 444.hu.

Kolodko is not only affected by the war in general, as a Transcarpathian, his parents and several relatives are still living in the war-torn parts of Ukraine.