THE HOLODOMOR IN THE WORK OF ARTIST MYKOLA SLIPCHENKO (based on materials from the permanent collection of the Holodomor Museum and the artist's family archive)

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of a lesser-known part of the artistic legacy of Ukrainian graphic artist and Honored Artist of Ukraine Mykola Slipchenko (1909–2005), dedicated to the reflection on the Holodomor of 1932–1933 – the genocide of the Ukrainian people committed by the totalitarian communist regime of the USSR. Two of the artist’s works – “Shameful Year 1933” and “In the Spring of 1933”, created in pastel and donated to the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide – are examined here for the first time as objects of scholarly interpretation. These artworks are analyzed as visual sources that preserve the memory of a mass catastrophe caused by the policy of terror by hunger. The article explores the biographical context in which these pieces were created, revealing the complex personal transformation of the artist – from a participant in collectivization and a poster artist working in the style of socialist realism in his youth, to a critical witness of the tragedy of the Ukrainian village in his later years. The study makes use of Slipchenko’s diaries, family testimonies, and archival documents, allowing for the reconstruction of the circumstances of his life in the 1930s and the motivations behind his later turn to the theme of the Holodomor. Attention is given to the artistic language of the pastels – their symbolism, use of color, and compositional features, which reveal the emotional depth of the artist’s experience. Slipchenko depicted not only the physical tragedy of the Ukrainian people, but also raised the issue of the moral responsibility of the contemporary individual. His works represent a protest against the silencing of the crime and an attempt to comprehend historical trauma – and possibly, an act of repentance. These paintings embody not only personal memory but also serve as a form of artistic testimony. The article argues that Slipchenko’s works are significant not only as aesthetic artifacts, but also as a contribution to the shaping of visual memory of the Holodomor, reinforcing historical truth within Ukraine’s cultural space.