INTERVIEW WITH
SIRAI BUCARELLI

Hi! My name is Sirai Bucarelli. I am half Italian, half German and I grew up in Rome but now I live in Berlin since a year. I do mostly animations and illustrations. Being able to draw is definitely the most direct mean to express my creativity and imagination – there’s no limit to creativity.

So in Febraury, at the beginning, it was a complete shock because I would have never imagined that something like this could happen. It seemed so aggressive and unnecessary. I remember being flooded by all the news and just not believing that this was actually happening but the time I was really hit by it, in a more personal way, was when I worked with a girl, a Ukrainian refugee, here in Berlin and we talked. She just opened up to me completely and for the first time I ha someone that had experienced everything in firsthand. Somehow this opened up to me a whol different reality that was just so much deeper compared to watching things through a screen that is always like protected by glass somehow. I really felt that was when I wanted to do als something to somehow contribute – which I always had in mind obviously since before, but in that moment I realized how important it is also to be close to these people and just show support, for sure.

So, the first illustration is a dove holding a star. The star as a symbol of light, of bringing back light and bringing back hope and the dove as a symbol of peace, obviously. I was wanting to find a symbol that was carrying a message – of peace, obviously. And while I was doing research, I found an article about this Ukrainian artist [Maria Prymachenko] who actually had also drawn herself a painting of a dove that was exposed in a museum with other of her works and the museum was hit by attack by Russians and most of the works were completely destroyed. It was a very specific attack because in the area around it, everything was completely safe – only this museum burned. And when I read this article, it was obvious for me that I wanted to redraw or recreate this image of the dove because it not only carried the idea of peace but also it really undermarked this historical fact that happened.

The second illustration I worked on is this jar of a rooster being hold by two hands – this was a collaboration with Victor and Zlata. They told me the story, which I really, really liked, and I thought it was a perfect drawing to represent. Basically it’s about [two artists] during the Soviet Union – [they] created a rooster jug ceramic piece. When in April a house was bombed, everything was destroyed except this only part of the house which had this very ceramic that stayed intact. And so, this idea of something that was saved by all the rest kind of has a beautiful symbol – also being a rooster that somehow represents new beginnings or restart. As a beautiful imagery, we thought of drawing two hands keeping it all together and somehow – with care – keeping it intact.

The hope is – first of all – sensibilization. I guess it is about that you wear the t-shirts, people see them, think about them, try to understand – sensibilization is key in all of these things. For me it was an honor being contacted by Victor and Zlata to be part of this project because I was really happy being able to contribute in the way I did and through something I love which are my drawings. Further, I am happy I could help them create something beautiful that actually helps and supports Ukraine – not only through sensibilization, but also through general support throughout this project.

Thank you!