Kyiv Child

Item number 3554/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

Data
Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Photographic print of a mother and child on horseback; figures are done in black and have yellow halos. Mother is wearing a long cloak, secured at the throat with a brooch, and has her right arm wrapped around her child; left arm is resting against back of horses' neck. Reins of horse flow into the lines of mother's cloak; horse mane also highlighted with yellow. The image is painted on a gold and silver car hood; centre of hood is silver, side panels are gold. Edition number, 12/224, title, artist signature, and date made are written below image; embossed artist signature in bottom right corner.

Narrative

In 2022 Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaa launched a fundraising project to help Ukrainian victims of the Russian war. He had an exhibition scheduled for the autumn of 2022 at the TSEKH Art Gallery in Kyiv, Ukraine. One of the works that was meant to be displayed was a car hood artwork called "Kyiv Child", a piece he created after visiting Ukraine in 2019. Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas wrote: “I made many friends on that trip, and now they are huddling in basements, holding their children close. They worry about food, water, and Putin's indiscriminate bombing of civilians. A print was created using an image of the artwork; the prints went on sale March 28, with all proceeds going to UNICEF Canada. Malaspina Printmakers provided the high-quality art paper and pigment, labour, and press at no cost. Others donated funds to cover other expenses so that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the prints would go to charity. The funds to purchase the print were contributed by the MOA Volunteer Associates in April 2022.

Iconographic Meaning

The artist wrote: “This work, Kyiv Child, is inspired by a centuries-old stone carving from St. Michael's Cathedral in Ukraine's capital city. On that carving, a warrior on horseback carries a spear. For my adaptation of this work, the ‘stone’ is now the hood of a ZAZ-AA03 Slavuta car manufactured in a post-Soviet Ukraine. And the warrior is replaced by a mother and child travelling over a plain gilded in gold and silver."