True Brothers, Keepers (Mirror for Denys) depicts Sasha Samuels' vision of a post-war Ukrainian renaissance – that of a sovereign nation where human rights, dignity, and freedom of expression flourish. The artist has made multiple trips to Ukraine since 2023, and has witnessed firsthand the aggression against as well as the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
Samuels chose Ghiberti's Cain and Abel as inspiration for her composition but inverted its parable to celebrate brotherly love. Abel and his oxen in the foreground are replaced by a Ukrainian war survivor astride a white horse.The rider depicts an amputee whom Samuels assisted in equine therapy in Lviv. In the upper right of the tableau, Cain and Abel kneeling at sacrificial altars is replaced by a military cemetery – a sober reminder of the daily sacrifices made by Ukraine's defenders as they seek to protect their families, communities, and culture from obliteration. Through this painting, Samuels seeks to support the Ukrainian people in their struggle toward a just freedom in a democratic homeland that is safe and secure.
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