Collab
Created as a collaboration between between Sparrow and Ukrainian artist Anna Kostritskaya.
Inspired by the painting "American Gothic" from the American artist Grant Wood, which was created in 1930, we re-imagined what this work would mean in the context of today. Seeing parallels between the turning point of the Great Depression, when Wood created his work, and the world today being at another turning point.
The essence and history of this canvas coincide with what is happening in the world today. I, Anna, speak to the world because Russia's war in Ukraine affects the whole world.
The central characters of the picture are a man and a woman, a man holding a pitchfork in his hands, rich in symbolism, just like the Ukrainian coat of arms, a trident. Wood's work was originally criticized, as often happens with new works, but as the Great Depression deepened, the painting came to be seen as a representation of the unwavering American pioneering spirit. So, too, our work focuses on the unwavering spirit of the Ukrainian people. As Wood's couple represent the qualities of resilience, fortitude and pride, which allow them to overcome the hardship of the 1930s; our couple represent those qualities as well as healthy doses of hope and joy -- essential for overcoming the challenges in the world today.
We see the mirror of history here. Now the Ukrainian people are a symbol of freedom and a strong spirit.
We work in the collage technique, we use the textures of Sparrow's GAN generated images in addition to Anna's paintings and also her photos based on the composition of American Gothic. All this is knitted together with digital painting and animation into an infinite loop GIF.
