Controversial Portrait of Putin made from Spent Bullet Shells on Show in NYC

The Ukranian Institute debuted an exhibition on the Upper East Side featuring a huge portrait of Vladimir Putin made from spent bullet shells from Ukraine. All the details on the controversial exhibit here.

A new exhibit, titled “Five Elements of War,” comes from Ukrainian artists Daniel Green and Daria Marchenko and debuted on January 25 at Ukrainian Institute of America on Museum Mile. One piece garnering a lot of attention is a seven-foot-high portrait of Vladimir Putin composed of thousands of spent bullet casings from the Eastern Ukraine war front.

Running through to February 4th, “Five Elements of War” is a large-scale multimedia exhibit that explores the devastating impact of Russia’s three-year-old military and propaganda war in Ukraine, a military conflict which has proved to be the largest in Europe since WWII. The exhibit probes the causes, turmoil, and consequences of the conflict which has already claimed more than 10,000 lives.

The exhibit is the brainchild of acclaimed Ukrainian artist-activists Daria Marchenko and Daniel D. Green. Both artists took part in the 2014 uprising against the country’s Russian-backed regime, known as the Maidan Revolution, and witnessed the killing of friends on the streets of Kiev.

The installation is comprised of five artworks which each stand on their own but are conceptually connected, creating one overarching composition and message. Each individual piece speaks to a different aspect of the war.

Five Elements of War from Ukrainian Institute of America on Vimeo.