Images from Ukraine: Latino artist travels to Irpin to paint mural inspired by “Echoes of Guernica”

Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in Wisconsin that traveled to the country since it was invaded. The purpose of this journalism project was to document personal stories and events that detailed or showed the conditions of the war at that time, and their connections to Milwaukee. mkeind.com/reportsfromukraine

Mexican-American artist Roberto Marquez painted a special mural on the destroyed bridge crossing the Irpin River, in the town of Irpin just 12 miles northwest of Kyiv, to memorialize the refugees who fled to safety from that location at the start of the unprovoked Russian invasion.

Marquez traveled to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal for international support. The artist painted what he saw while visiting various cities in the war-torn country. From his shelter setup under the Irpin Bridge, Marquez aimed to portray “the true face” of what he has witnessed.

Spanning the Irpin River, the bridge was demolished by Ukrainian forces ahead of the Russian military’s arrival on February 27. A makeshift walkway was constructed from planks to allow area residents to flee on foot.

At an intersection close to the Irpin Bridge, along the escape route out of the city, the Russians bombarded the area with explosive projectiles. At least eight civilians were killed. Among the victims was a family of four, including two children, who were hit by a mortar strike. The incident has been classified as a war crime.

When Marquez arrived in Ukraine, he came wearing an ammunition belt across his chest. But instead of it being loaded with bullets, they held paint brushes. He said he would use art to defeat the Russians.

“After President Zelenskyy said his country needed support, I decided to come here. Brushes are weapons too, and I hope to raise awareness with the paintings I make,” said Marquez. “Through my paintings, I want to show the world the true face of the war in Ukraine. My artworks demonstrate opposition to the war and protests the killings of people.”

Marquez mural on the shattered edge of Kyiv reflected the attacks by the Russian army, massacres in cities such as Bucha and Irpin, bombed houses, and the fear and suffering of people forced to escape from the invader’s brutality.

Hundreds of cold, exhausted, and frightened people had sheltered under the Irpin Bridge’s shattered foundations to avoid sniper and mortar fire. News photos taken from the site became immediately iconic in the early days of the invasion. As many as 300 civilians were killed by Russians in Irpin.

For inspiration, Marquez said the scene made him think of “Guernica,” one of the most influential anti-war paintings of the last century. The oil painting on canvas, created at the height of Spain’s Civil War in the 1937, was one of Picasso’s best-known works. It was an anti-war depiction of the Nazi bombing of the Spanish town. Marquez felt that in Ukraine, 1937 was happening again.

“When I draw, I have to be where things happen. This is where the action takes place. This here is an emotional site,” Marquez said. “People come and tell me their experience and that information is what I use as a mental image.”

The Mayor of Irpin, Oleksandr Markushin, took notice of Marquez’s work. He said that the mural will have a permanent home some place in the town, either in a city administration building or the cultural centre, which was heavily damaged after being deliberately targeted by Russian artillery.

A few feet away from the mural, under the shadow of the collapsed bridge, another mural was installed. It was designed like the Ukrainian flag, and featured a large sign placed beside it. The message asked local residents or anyone passing by to share the names on it of the victims lost due to the war.

The small shoes of children and abandoned toys also adorned the makeshift walkway, serving as a memorial to the youth displaced by Putin’s bloody provocation. Slightly submerged in Irpin River could be seen the remains of a few baby strollers, left behind since February when families fled the approaching slaughter.

Marquez worked on a mural in Medyka of the destruction in Mariupol for two weeks in April, before traveling on to Irpin. All of his work in Ukraine has been a protest against Russia’s invasion and as a tribute to local refugees.

Originally from Mexico City, Marquez now lives in Dallas. Marquez was born in 1959, and graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente. He later moved to the United States. His paintings depict dreamlike images from literature, Mexican history, and the his own life.

“We’re here to help,” added Marquez. “Maybe in a little way, but it’s real sad, and it’s a catastrophic thing that is happening here. Maybe this art will inspire more people will come to help.”

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