Piers Secunda Opens London Exhibition on Russia’s Destruction of Ukrainian Culture | Ukraine news

Familiar dishes conceal a darker history, while unusual ink carries physical traces of a missile strike into a quiet London gallery.

An exhibition by British artist Piers Secunda titled “Nature Morte: The Extermination of Ukraine” opens in London on August 12, 2026. The exhibition will run at Fitzrovia Gallery until September 6. The project was created following the artist’s research trips to Ukraine between 2024 and 2026.

The centerpiece of the exhibition will be a series of still lifes featuring traditional Ukrainian dishes. To create them, Piers Secunda used handmade ink produced from charcoal collected after the first Russian missile strike on the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building in 2022.

Ukrainian dishes as a symbol of life under threat

The exhibition includes images of popular Ukrainian dishes, from bread and borscht to chicken Kyiv. The title “Nature Morte” translates as “dead nature.” In Piers Secunda’s conception, it refers not only to the genre of still life, but also to Russia’s attempt to destroy Ukrainian culture and national identity.

The phrase “Nature Morte,” meaning “Dead Nature,” is highly appropriate in this context, both because the vegetables and food I paint are unquestionably dead nature and because the attack on Ukraine is an attempt to destroy the very essence of what Ukraine is

– Piers Secunda

The artist deliberately chose not to depict war crimes directly. Instead of scenes of destruction, he selected everyday food – an image that international audiences can readily understand and through which the vulnerability of civilian life during wartime can be conveyed.

In my paintings, I sought to create a certain barrier between myself and the war crimes – I did not want to depict the crimes themselves, but rather something intrinsic to Ukrainian life that appears entirely harmless. Food is an ideal creative starting point because everyone can relate to the process of transforming the fruits of the earth into finished dishes. Yet in Ukraine, even beloved national dishes are under threat. Borscht is the best example: its origins as a Ukrainian dish have been protected by UNESCO from Russification

– Piers Secunda

Drawing on the still-life tradition gives the works an outwardly serene appearance. At the same time, the materials from which they are made serve as a reminder of the destruction caused by Russian attacks.

Ink made from charcoal from the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building

For nearly two decades, Piers Secunda has created paintings and prints using ink made from materials found at the sites of wars, terrorist attacks, and disasters. The charcoal from the ruins of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building was given to him by a British documentary journalist after the first missile strike on the building in 2022.

For nearly twenty years, I have been creating paintings and prints using my own inks. The materials used in these works are varied and unusual, ranging from rust from the World Trade Center to crude oil and charcoal – which I began using after gaining access to the Mosul Museum in Iraq immediately after the city was liberated from ISIS. In all these paintings and prints, it is the materials themselves that tell the story and give the art greater power, because it is imbued with the very history it depicts

– Piers Secunda

According to the artist, the charcoal ink directly connects the artworks to the history of the Russian invasion. In this project, the material becomes not only a medium for drawing, but also physical evidence of an attack on a Ukrainian government building.

Documentary film and map of destroyed cultural sites

In addition to the still lifes, visitors will be shown a 40-minute documentary created by Piers Secunda together with director David Miller. The film complements the exhibition’s artistic component and explores the consequences of Russian aggression.

Another element of the exhibition will be a large map of Ukraine. It will mark 6,347 instances of damage inflicted by Russia on Ukrainian cultural sites. QR codes will also be displayed alongside the paintings, allowing visitors to review dossiers on Russian officials and military personnel linked to crimes against Ukraine.

How the exhibition materials were gathered

The NGO PR Army assisted Piers Secunda with organizing filming, finding interview subjects, and selecting locations. Vladyslav Havrylov, a researcher with the organization, became the exhibition’s academic adviser.

Their collaboration began more than a year ago. The artist initially worked on a documentary project about the destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, but later also focused on the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

After reviewing our materials, he said he had an idea for an exhibition. For it, he needed information about senior Russian officials directly involved in carrying out crimes against children. These included governors who ordered the placement of deported minors in their regions, as well as military personnel. I spent about a year gathering and compiling these profiles, and Piers analyzed them

– Vladyslav Havrylov

The compiled profiles are intended to show exactly who was involved in the forced transfer of Ukrainian minors and other actions against Ukraine. Vladyslav Havrylov noted that international exhibitions of this kind can attract the attention of government officials and diplomats whose decisions determine whether targeted international sanctions are imposed.

Many people who actually make decisions and have the power to influence events attend exhibitions of this kind. One of the goals is to impose targeted international sanctions on the perpetrators featured in the exhibition. The aim is to demonstrate the scale of the crimes in which they are involved so that these sanctions are actually introduced. The decision on whether to impose them will be made by government officials and diplomats from the countries where the exhibition is shown

– Vladyslav Havrylov

A portion of the proceeds will go toward restoring a church

Piers Secunda hopes the London exhibition will help British audiences better understand the scale of Russian aggression and the threat it poses to Europe. The artist emphasizes that Ukraine is preventing the war from spreading further across the continent.

Fifteen percent of the proceeds from works sold during the exhibition will be allocated to restoring a damaged 12th-century church at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

About Piers Secunda

Piers Secunda is a 50-year-old British artist and sculptor. For more than 25 years, he has studied the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage and the actions of regimes responsible for such crimes.

The artist previously documented the destruction of cultural sites by ISIS militants in Iraq. His research into the Nazi occupation of the British island of Alderney also helped prompt a UK government investigation.

Works by Piers Secunda are held in the collections of:

the British Museum;
the Victoria and Albert Museum;
the Ashmolean Museum;
the National Museum of Iraq;
the 9/11 Museum in New York;
UNESCO;
the UK Government Art Collection.

The London exhibition will combine painting, documentary film, a map of destruction, and investigative materials to reveal the impact of Russia’s war on Ukrainian culture, children, and everyday life.