The Winter War (1939)
A chance to learn from history: Invasions of sovereign states often don’t go as planned. These images, painted and drawn between 2005 and 2015, are reflections on the Winter War when Stalin invaded Finland in 1939.
Lost Edge 21, 2008
acrylic, oil, canvas, 48" x 46"
Last One 34, 2015
acrylic, canvas, 60" x 72"
Last One 21, 2013
acrylic, canvas, 48" x 46"
Last One 30, 2014
acrylic, canvas, 46" x 48"
Last One 29 (большой конфликт), 2014
acrylic, canvas, 60" x 72"
Last One 11, 2012
acrylic, oil, canvas, 60" x 72"
Last One 16, 2012
acrylic, canvas, 84" x 72"
Last One 15, 2012
acrylic, canvas, 46" x 48"
Last One 12 , 2011
acrylic, canvas, 60" x 48"
Last One 10, 2011
acrylic, canvas, 72" x 60"
Last One 9, 2011
acrylic, canvas, 60" x 48"
Last One 8, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 48" x 60"
Last One 7, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 60" x 48"
Last One 6, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 72" x 60"
Last One 5, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 60" x 72"
Lost Edge 30, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 48" x 60"
Lost Edge 29, 2009
acrylic, canvas, 48" x 48"
Last One 4, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 72" x 60"
Last One 3, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 84" x 72"
Last One 2, 2010
acrylic, canvas, 72" x 84"
Last One 1, 2009
acrylic, canvas, 60" x 48"
Cutting Edge 9, 2006
pencil, paper, 23" x 29"
Cutting Edge 10, 2006
pencil, paper, 23" x 29"
Cutting Edge 8, 2006
pencil, paper, 23" x 29"
Cutting Edge 4, 2006
pencil, paper, 23" x 29"
Cutting Edge 5, 2006
pencil, paper, 23" x 29"
Cutting Edge 3, 2006
pencil, paper, 23" x 29"
Cutting Edge 1, 2006
pencil, paper, 23" x 29"
The source material for this body of work is archival photos of soldiers fighting in The Winter War (1930-1940) and images of ruins of the once mighty fortifications of the Mannerheim Line, built to protect Finland from the advances of the Soviet military avant-garde. The work reflects on how humans attempt to introduce a type of safety and bulwark against hostility, violence, mayhem and terror. And how nature ultimately reclaims these attempts.
It was a brutal battle, fought in the bitter cold. The Finns invented the Molotov cocktail to hold off their much larger and better equipped enemy. While the Winter War lasted only 105 days, it was tragic and futile. Revised estimates of the number of dead are close to 100,000, but may have been much higher. The Red Army and the League of Nations were humiliated and Finland ceded 11% of their territory to the Soviet Union. Perhaps most tragically, the powerlessness of the international community in the face of Soviet demands and actions, along with the disorganization with which the war was fought, may have emboldened Hitler and encouraged his belief that his army could attack and subdue the USSR.
Imperial War Museums’ Short History of the Winter War
History.com’s What Was the Winter War