Defiant Ukrainians are staging an art exhibition in Kyiv to show the world the spirit of their resistance – and here’s how you can show YOUR solidarity

A defiant group of Ukrainians are staging an art exhibition to show the world the spirit of their resistance. 

As part of the exhibition, The Unseen Force which will be on display in Kyiv, women from the ‘Angry Mavka’ women’s resistance movement are posting pictures of symbols drawn on their wrists on social media. 

This means they can demonstrate to Russian occupiers that they still exist, that resistance to the aggressors continues and they will not surrender to life under a false flag. 

The organisers have created a ‘portal’ between occupied territories of Ukraine and the rest of the world, with women sending in pictures of their wrists from Germany, Spain, Israel, Thailand and many more. 

They are calling on others to join the struggle to take photos of their cities and to use the backdrop of Russian embassies and other landmarks. 

BARCELONA: The organisers have created a ‘portal’ between occupied territories of Ukraine and the rest of the world

BERLIN: Now the movement is searching for others to join in across the world 

The group is called Mavka, after the female forest spirit from Ukrainian and Russian folklore and mythology. 

Mavka is a long-haired woman, typically seen as a temptress figure who lures men into the woods and to their deaths. 

The Ukrainian all-female and non-violent resistance group emerged in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol in 2022. 

Last year members of the group risked their lives by doctoring Russian Ruble notes into a powerful symbol of Ukrainian defiance.  

Hundreds of the 50 Ruble notes appeared across the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine – from Melitopol, Berdyansk and Tomak in southern Ukraine all the way to Sevastopol and Yalta in Crimea.  

The notes sent a powerful message to any of the occupiers who may think they are lucky to stumble across the ‘free money’. If caught, they could have been arrested, imprisoned or worse. 

At the centre of the note – in its traditional form – stood a female figure: the Monument of Neva, that sits in St Petersburg, seen holding a sceptre. 

But the activists turned the sceptre into perhaps the ultimate symbol of the Ukrainian nation: the Trident (tryzub). The figure was also given a floral headdress, in the Ukrainian style, and carries the familiar facial features of the Mavka character.

In the top left corner of the note is the symbol for the Bank of Russia. But ‘bank of Russia’ has been changed to ‘Bank of angry Mavka’. 

The Russian note also had a line at the top saying ‘Banknote of Russia’ and at the bottom saying ‘Fifty Roubles’. These lines instead read ‘This is not Russia’ and ‘You are in Ukraine!’

DEAD SEA, ISRAEL: The latest protest is part of an exhibition called Unseen Force at Ukrainian House in Kyiv

MELITOPOL, UKRAINE: The group began in Melitopal in Ukraine in 2022 – and has since embarked on a series of brave protests 

CRIMEA, UKRAINE: The symbol links defiance across the world and sends a clear message to aggressors

WARSAW, POLAND: The group is called Mavka, after the female forest spirit from Ukrainian and Russian folklore and mythology

BANGKOK, THAILAND: The protest has already travelled thousands of miles to Thailand

The latest protest is part of an exhibition called Unseen Force at Ukrainian House in Kyiv, which is running for two weeks from May 18 to June 2. 

The Unseen Force project stands as a living testament to the unyielding spirit of Ukrainian citizens. 

It is dedicated to promoting the understanding that Ukraine is defined not merely by its territory or a flag fluttering outside your window but by the resilience and humanity of its people.

Its stories are not stories of passivity, uncertainty and indifference: they are the stories of the resilience of a population that is under direct threat from the Russian occupier.

The exhibition demonstrates the history and the presence of activist resistance movements, their work and activities, as well as the reaction of the artistic environment. 

The exhibition will be at Kyiv, Ukrainian House 18 May – 2 June 2024.