The completed display memorializing the children who were killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ina Malloy

In 2022, forty-six students and I embarked on a soul-searching task to memorialize and honor the children whose lives were needlessly taken during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Alberto Giacometti and Bill Spira
I frequently share with students how people have used the arts to capture emotions and tell a story. During each class, I introduce a different artist and ask students to reflect on and respond to the artwork.

To prepare students for this project, I introduced Alberto Giacometti, a Swiss sculptor who is best known for sculptures that depict the mood of fear during and after World War II. We also reviewed the work of Bill Spira, an Austrian artist who risked his life to create harrowing images of the Holocaust while he was imprisoned in Auschwitz in 1944.

A Powerful Symbol
The inspiration for initiating this assignment came from a Ukrainian colleague of mine who shared an intriguing artwork of his family crest that included a symbol of a trident (tryzub) in the center. After doing some research, I discovered that the trident is a very ancient symbol, represented here as a three-pronged spear. It was adopted as the coat of arms of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1919 and is believed to represent the Holy Trinity or a flying falcon with a cross above its head. The coat of arms appears as a blue shield with a gold trident, representing the nation of Ukraine, its people and culture, and the pride they feel for their country.

We decided to incorporate this symbol of Ukraine to represent the thoughts students shared with me and the sadness we felt when we thought of the children killed in the war.

We decided to incorporate this symbol of Ukraine to represent the thoughts students shared with me and the sadness we felt when we thought of the children killed in the war. Each of the dots that surround the coat of arms has a unique face drawn by students to represent a child lost during the invasion.

Production
The dots were initially drawn using Bingo markers, mimicking a recent pointillism lesson where we referred to Georges Seurat’s post-Impressionistic painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. We also used Ed Emberley’s Fingerprint Drawing Book (LB Kids; illustrated edition, 2005) as motivation to create the whimsical faces that were added to the dots.

Throughout the project, I collected snippets of student discussions, and we incorporated these quotes into the design.

Presentation
Once the memorial was completed, we acquired a large frame donated from our local JOANN Fabric and Crafts store. Thanks to their generosity and assistance, the memorial display has a professional look.

The final version will be displayed in our classroom for a few days and then transferred to the main entrance of the school. After a week or so there, we hope to have the artwork transferred to the East Hartford Public Library. Ultimately, we want to donate the piece to a local Ukrainian church for a more permanent display and remembrance of the children lost.

Ina Malloy is an art teacher at East Hartford Middle School in Windsor, Connecticut. inamalloy@gmail.com
A Memorial for the Children of Ukraine