Leith to Kyiv

10 Years. Documenting Ukrainian Resolve and Resistance

Sarah Lippett

Cover of book. Yellow with figures of a man on a bicyle, a man walking and a woman with suitcases — Cover of *10 Years – Documenting Ukrainian Resolve and Resistance*

If you have been around Leith recently you might have seen a few bold splashes of blue and yellow. Wander up Dalmeny Street and you will see the Ukrainian church with its blue and yellow Ukrainian flag flying outside. Blue for the sky and yellow for the fields of wheat.

Just next door is the Out of the Blue drill hall, home to arts workshops, markets and exhibitions. The hall is also home to Out of the Blueprint printing service. This social enterprise uses riso and other printing methods to offer affordable printing to local artists and is becoming a key part of the comics scene in Edinburgh.

Among the books they have published is Sarah Lippett’s new work, 10 Years: Documenting Ukrainian Resolve and Resistance. The drill hall is also hosting an exhibition of art from the book, with beautiful panels blown up to large size – something to enjoy with your tea and soup

Three pages from the book on display as part of an exhibition — Pages from *10 Years* at the Out of the Blue drill hall.

That blue and yellow colour palette is found throughout ‘10 Years’ and is part of the centering of the experience of Ukrainians as they live through the horror of the Russian invasion. Sarah Lippett first worked with Ukrainian artists in 2016, following an artist residency. She reconnected with them after the Russian invasion. This book brings together their stories and reflects on the impact of war on the nation of Ukraine.

Throughout the book there is a yearning to have back the life that existed before the invasion. But also a realistic perspective that things are never going to be the same. Processes that began after Ukrainian independence and the Maidan have accelerated. Struggles around nationalism and identity have a renewed importance. This book documents the removal of Soviet murals and statues and discusses the shifting balance away from the Russian language towards Ukrainian. Some also look to the EU as a way forward. This is also a kind of loss that some of the artists are wary of.

Escape is one solution. Some escape into exile and others escape within themselves. But exile is not easy and comes laden with guilt. The scenes in the book discussing exile deploy a flatter use of the blue/yellow colour palette, with more monotonal blocks of colour – a reflection of something missing, of the loneliness and alienation of exile.

A large panel on the wall at a cafe. It shows pigeons in flight over a city. — A panel from *10 Years* at the Out of the Blue drill hall.

Nature is a continual theme throughout the book and Sarah’s sketchbook style works well to depict trees and birds whether in the countryside or in city parks. Animals can be killed, trees can be destroyed but nature can never be permanently defeated. The pigeons that fly from the beloved pigeon lofts of the city are free but will also come home.

A nation at war has fewer choices outside of survival and we hear in this book the loss of choice and autonomy from Ukrainians. But amongst the pain there are still those who look for beauty, who create art and find solace in nature. And there are of course, still those that fight.

10 Years is not a sentimental book, nor is it a work of propaganda. It looks soberly at the situation in Ukraine and the impact on individuals. The art conveys a real sense of the people portrayed and their individual characters. It is a small but meaningful example of how the grassroots art scene in Scotland has found ways to support artists in Ukraine. If you are visiting Edinburgh do check out the exhibition and in any case pick up a copy of the book from the Out of the Blueprint online shop. All proceeds go to The Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund.