With Ribbons and Flags

“With Ribbons and Flags” is a bilingual book about the graphic series of the same name by artist and anarchist Davyd Chychkan. Launched in 2022 and conceived as a work in progress, the series depicted members of anarchist and anti-authoritarian movements who defended Ukraine or had already died with weapons in their hands. Davyd himself was killed on August 10, 2025, while repelling an assault by Russian infantry in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

During Davyd’s lifetime, this series of watercolors was exhibited several times in Ukraine. Specifically, it was presented at a municipal gallery in Uzhhorod in 2022, and in 2023 at a private gallery in Kryvyi Rih as well as at a municipal art center in frontline Zaporizhzhia. In January 2024, this series of portraits of left-wing anti-authoritarians in the military was meant to be presented in its most complete form at the Odesa Fine Arts Museum. However, the exhibition was canceled by the museum director’s decision as an attempt to appease representatives of the city’s right-wing radical faction, who did not want to see their political opponents within the walls of the Odesa museum. De facto, this was an act of political censorship.

The art book “With Ribbons and Flags” contains graphic works from the corresponding series, as well as texts by Hanna Tsyba, Denys Pilash, and Yustyna Kravchuk (in Ukrainian and English). The book was produced and supported by Andriy Bozhko in a collaboration between the German publishing house Verlak and the Ukrainian publishing project ilostmylibrary.

Proceeds from the sale of the zine will be forwarded to Davyd’s family.