The New Ukrainian

Новий український (The New Ukrainian). Displaced Ukrainians struggle to survive. The trauma of war re-emerges in a new and disastrous form. These horrors terrorise those who’ve survived WWII again, which now also stain the hearts of younger generations today.

I’m the first born American in my family, and my grandparents are from both sides of these war-inflicted counties: Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. Each of them has fled with their then infant children to the US and Canada post war for a better life. Still, I’m removed from my grandparents’ past experiences, and I’ve felt disconnected from what is happening in Eastern Europe today. This illustration is a mock front cover similar to The New Yorker to expose front-and-center the horrors of war that all Eastern Europeans are experiencing. Personally, this exercise is also an attempt to connect with my heritage.