December 27, 2022

A Word is Not a Sparrow


A Word is Not a Sparrow
Rain is the only thing that should fall from the sky. Ffchw (September 2022)

On the evening of December 24, police officers in Perm detained the street artist Ffchw, who became famous in August after creating the graffiti "Summary" (Итоги), which listed what can and cannot be done in Russia.

The human rights organization OVD-Info was the first to report his detention. Ffchw said he was detained when creating the work “See you...” (Свидимся…) – a work that translates "farewell" into different languages, including Ukrainian.

Ffchw said that this was his first detention. At the police station, OVD-Info reported, the artist was asked about his attitude toward the war and Ukraine, and was also threatened with a search, but was then released without a protocol.

Ffchw said in a recent interview with Meduza that, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, graffiti became his way to support others. “I draw, because at the moment no one has the right to be silent. I continue to do this because this is my way to speak out, to be heard, and to hear the answer,” he said. Look at the street art that Ffchw created in 2022 and just before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Samples of the artist's work are shared below.

Translated from Meduza article 12/25/22.

Things you can't do in Russia
don't go there, don't stay there,
don't sing this,
don't sit here, don't sit there,
don't eat this, don't listen that ♪
don't turn this on, don't buy this,
don't say this, don't sleep with that,
don't watch this, don't wear that,
don't desecrate, worship,
don't draw this, don't vote for that one,
don't support this,
don't write this, don't sign that,
don't disagree, respect that one,
be humble, pray, adore,
bow down lower,
don't spread this, don't defend that,
don't argue, don't push that,
don't think, don't dare,
give birth, don't disturb,
pay your bills, roll that up,
and don't rock.
- August 2022
Voice is not violene
October 2021
Cheap alcohol graffiti.
I drink cheap alcohol, but the news is making me sick. - August 2022
Not safe graffiti.
"There are fewer and fewer places in the world where you can feel safe," the artist writes.
.
UNSAFE
DANGEROUS
THERE
HERE
KNOCK-KNOCK
SOUND

SOMEWHERE
NOT HERE
HERE
TO WEIGH
STRESS

UNSAFE
DANGEROUS
HERE
THERE
HALFWAY
/
- November 2022
Museums graffiti
We used to dream of building museums. Now we can barely put two words together. - December 2022

 

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