A free art exhibition of religious icons painted onto used ammunition crates from Ukraine is going on display at Ely Cathedral.
Taken the frontline, they will be on display for two weeks from Tuesday January 20 until February 1.
Since its launch, Icons on Ammo Boxes has been shown in over 20 countries, as well as being on display in the EU Parliament and at the 2023 NATO Summit.
The artists paint the icons on the lids, bottoms, and other fragments of wooden boxes that used to store various types of ammunition and weaponry.
The boards are brought from the combat zone by PFVMH (Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital) volunteers as well as servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guards of Ukraine.
The project is the inspiration of two Kyivan artists and spouses, Sofia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko, who are graduates of the National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture, and both live and work in Kyiv.
Speaking to Reuters, Klymenko said: “It was important for me to show people that the war is real, that this ammunition box is real, and it stored real weapons that killed real people.”
He added: “I don’t want this war to exist. And I don’t want this project to exist either.”
All the paintings in the exhibition are available to buy and have already attracted a lot of interest, including a purchase by King Charles.
All the money raised from the sale of the art goes to providing medical aid to both militants and civilians in the armed conflict areas in Eastern Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Ely Cathedral said: “The artwork is not only stunning and truly unique, each painting shares a poignant message about war, peace, human suffering and above all, hope.
“It is heartening to see something beautiful can have been created from something so devastating, and that through buying a piece of this art you are helping, in a small way, alleviate some of the suffering of those caught up in this conflict.”
