Piers Secunda on Russia’s Cultural War in Ukraine
British artist Piers Secunda will present a powerful new exhibition examining Russia’s systematic destruction of Ukraine’s cultural identity when Nature Morte: The Extermination of Ukraine opens at Fitzrovia Gallery this August. Bringing together painting, documentary film and an extensive archive of evidence, the exhibition is the culmination of three years of research into the cultural consequences of the ongoing war.
For more than two decades, Secunda’s research-led practice has explored the destruction of culture during conflict, from the Taliban and ISIS to the Second World War. His latest exhibition focuses on what he describes as Russia’s attempt to erase Ukraine’s cultural history and national identity through the targeting of cultural institutions, religious sites and communities.
At the heart of the exhibition are 21 still-life paintings depicting traditional Ukrainian dishes and their ingredients. At first glance, the works appear to celebrate Ukrainian culinary traditions. On closer inspection, each painting contains a QR code that connects visitors to an archive documenting alleged acts including the looting of Ukrainian art, the forced deportation and military training of Ukrainian children, and the 2023 missile strike on Odesa Cathedral.
The paintings themselves are made using ink produced by Secunda from charcoal gathered in Kharkiv by British journalist Jerome Starkey from the site of the first Ukrainian government building destroyed during Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The accompanying archive combines open-source material with research gathered through interviews with Ukrainian museum professionals, archivists, government officials, NGOs and independent researchers.
Alongside the paintings, the exhibition presents an infographic mapping 6,374 recorded points of damage to cultural sites across Ukraine, visualising the scale and geographic reach of destruction since the invasion began. A new 40-minute documentary by filmmaker David Miller follows Secunda’s research across Ukraine through interviews with museum directors, cultural workers, religious leaders, archivists and legal experts working on future reparations claims.
Secunda said:
“The war in Ukraine is not about seizing land, a warm weather port, or Ukraine’s rich soil – Russia has 11 time zones already. It’s an attempt to obliterate every element of Ukraine’s cultural and national identity, and roll out Russification across the country, forever.”
15% of proceeds from artwork sales will be donated to support the restoration of recent damage to a 12th-century church at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Piers Secunda, Nature Morte: The Extermination of Ukraine, 12th August – 6th September 2026,
Fitzrovia Gallery
About the Artist
Piers Secunda was born in London in 1976 and studied painting at Chelsea College of Arts, graduating in 1998. Over the past 25 years, his increasingly research-led practice has focused on the destruction of culture: why it occurs, what it means and what it reveals about the societies responsible.
In 2018, Secunda’s work documenting cultural damage by ISIS was used as a diplomatic tool between the Kurdish and Baghdad governments. In 2023, research for his exhibition on the WWII occupation of the British island of Alderney contributed to a UK Government inquiry into deaths on the island and is the subject of a feature-length documentary on Channel 4.
His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in collections including the British Museum, London; V&A Museum, London; the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the 9/11Memorial & Museum, New York; the Iraq National Museum, Baghdad; The Mosul Museum, Iraq; UNESCO and the UK Government Art Collection. @pierssecunda
