Zla Malvak

The Ukrainian term, Zla Mavka, roughly translates to a “wicked forest spirit”. It is the symbol of the resistance movement carried out by women in occupied Ukraine. It is a resistance movement to frustrate the occupiers or commit small acts of sabotage such as defacing propaganda posters or dropping fake rubble notes in the street. The symbol is hand drawn as a triangle and a sunburst and is used as signature on art or acts of resistance. The movement has grown into a community of the women of Occupied Ukraine. Zla Mavka is represented here in a sculptural 2-D artwork, 40x30 inches, using old license plates that have been cut, striped, rusted or deconstructed. The pieces are layered and assembled to form the mystical creature that lives in Ukraine.