Flowers of Solidarity – SOLIDARITY – art print

Original: Drawing by Johanna Teske. ink, charcoal and aquarell on paper, 59 x 42 cm, 2022

Paper: 160g/m², matt glossy

Size: A2 (42.0cm x 59.4cm) and A3 (29.7cm x 42.0cm) to choose from

Über das Bild: The picture is based on a destroyed city. Streets, railings, buildings. As templates I used various photos of the current reporting from the war zones of Ukraine and Yemen. The building on the right is still inhabitable, on the rubble run paths of provisionally superimposed plates. The sky is darkened, probably it is night right now. A celestial star cautiously illuminates the scenery.

Four trees rise to the sky like columns, they bear the following inscriptions (from left to right)

1. Καλώς ήρθες / yl´ el / Bun venit / Benvenuto / Welcome to all refugees of this world / Willkommen

2. آزادی / Down with repression and authority / Azadî / Freedom for our friends / End exploitation / End imperialism

3. Entraide / Mutual Aid and Resistance / Gegenseitige Hilfe / Résistance / NO WAR / Build horizontal communities

4. Contre la guerre / нет войнE / همبستگی / Solidarity will win / تضامن / No, against, destroy militarization. whoever it affects, wherever it grows, wherever we find it, however they call it / Dayanışma / Operation Операція Solidarity Солідарність. Stand with the people. A. / Leave No One Behind

A person walks through the center of the image with a package of relief supplies towards three people gathered in front of the turquoise meadow in the background of the image. The people are symbolic of all those who, in the face of war, against all odds, create horizontal networks of mutual aid and fight in resistance for the integrity of their fellow human beings and the future freedom of their communities.

The flowers in my drawing represent solidarity. They grow across the foreground and entwine themselves along the newly created paths across the rubble and the city. On the horizon they appear as luminous hills. Their petals are sparks of hope. They are memory present future at the same time.

Solidarity is the weapon and shield of those who are dominated, attacked and exploited. It is the source of counter-power. It brings allies together and shows a way out of all the wars, crises and catastrophes. It does not ask about state borders, nationality, appearance or ability to work and embraces all genders.

The flower motif comes from a poster for Operation Solidarity, an anti-authoritarian network of volunteers who have been organizing in Ukraine and beyond since the outbreak of war. The poster can be seen on the tree in the front right.

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