Shadows of War
Everyone in the world must do everything possible to ensure that wars leave only shadows on the stones of history and that this can only be seen in museums.
Everyone in the world must respect other nations.
Everyone in the world must recognize state borders.
Everyone in the world must defend justice.
Everyone in the world must care about life.
Everyone in the world must take peace as their duty.
–Volodymyr Zelenskyy
(Part of a speech given by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, Japan on 5-21-23 after laying flowers at the shrine to victims of the atomic bomb, accompanied by Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida.)
When I heard Zelenskyy’s speech, I immediately thought of those shadows of people who were incinerated instantly when the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima, as I know he had in mind in using that metaphor. The image of the crocuses with shadows shaped like soldiers, the montage I made to illustrate the core message from that speech, flashed into my mind all at once.
I had used the soldiers sillhouette for another project, so I had that picture in mind when I looked for some living plant to cast the shadow, which would be the soldiers instead of whatever plant I chose. I specifically searched photos of crocuses, because the rounded shapes of the nearly open flowers echo the rounded helmets of the soldiers, and the spiky leaves sticking out at various angles reminded me of the rifles the soldiers are holding. I felt that crocuses were a perfect choice because they are often the first of the spring flowers: intensely lovely, but they don’t last long. The particular clump I chose has those veins, almost like tiny people, and a pure gold color that echoes the truth of Zelenskyy’s words.
This was one of Zelenskyy’s truly inspired speeches; the shadows metaphor and list of responsibilities combining to create a timeless manifesto for humanity, a statement of what we all must do to live together peacefully on this planet. Like all great truths, it is very simple in its structure, yet it shimmers like a vision of heaven in its difficulty of attainment.
Links
Everyone in the world must do everything possible to ensure that wars leave only shadows on the stones of history – address by the President of Ukraine to the people of Japan link: Transcript of speech. Complete text of the speech given by Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, Japan on May 21, 2023. The page can be set for either Ukrainian or English, and there is a version of the speech in Japanese here. Photos of this trip to Japan to participate in the G7 Hiroshima Summit are at the foot of the page.
Eerie Shadows Of Hiroshima That Were Burned Into The Ground By The Atomic Bomb link: news article. Article about the shadows of people and objects that were burned into the stone walls in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb detonated. Article includes photo examples of the shadows, and explains how they were formed.
President visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and laid flowers at the memorial to the victims of the atomic bombing link: news article. News item on the official presidential site about the President of Ukraine visiting the memorial to the victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.
Sources
army-305276_1280.png and crocuses-3172897_1920.jpg from Pixabay.com (CC 0).
TexturesCom_RockSmooth0157_1_seamless_S.jpeg from textures.com. Licensed for commercial use and modification.