I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
’My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look at my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sand stretch far away”
— Percy Bysshe Shelley
Portrait #1
December 2022
Kyiv
Portrait #2
April 2024
New York
Portrait #3
September 2024
Black Rock City
The story behind the “A Portrait by the People”
The idea for creating this portrait came to me in a dream during my 1.5 years on the ground mission in Ukraine. We were invited to participate in an auction to raise funds for displaced Ukrainians. From this, I conceived the idea for an immersive art experience where participants could immediately reflect their emotions through drawing, writing, or other forms of expression directly on a canvas. My inspiration for this concept was drawn from Marina Abramović’s exhibition “The Artist is Present” at MoMA. I aimed to evoke the artist in each participant, allowing them to express and release their emotions as they confront the source of their pain, the catalyst for the changes in their lives and their disrupted peace.
The plan is to create a series of these immersive art experiences across different cities. This approach will allow people to express their anger and pain in various locations, offering them a meaningful outlet for their emotions and a chance to contribute to a collective narrative of resilience and healing.
- Zhanna Galeyeva