Rêvons à l'unisson de trait d'union entre Nations ... (2022) Painting by Coco Sicart

The artist Coco Sicart was inspired to create this work named "Let us dream in unison of a link between Nations without losing the Vision" or "To the Tears of Citizens", by the tragic news that has chilled us daily since February 24th, concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine which marked since then, a turning point in the history of Europe and the world. Europe has been built for decades, has strengthened itself through its effort of memory, its resilience and above all its incessant pursuit of the construction of peace on the rubble and on hatred. All the citizens of the world, spectators in front of this incessant surge of images of horror, desolation, terror, violence via the media, feel their helplessness harshly... The Artist Coco Sicart painted a Marianne in tears, witness to this tragedy.... It is clear that the whole world is stunned by such an apocalyptic scenario which is felt by each of us as a shock to the depths of our beings, unprecedented since the Second World War that our elders unfortunately experienced.... We must recognize that since the beginning of this bloody conflict, Russia has underestimated the bravery and resistance of the Ukrainian soldiers, because indeed, the unity of the Ukrainian Nation which was for a long time without an independent State until 1991, has sincerely moved the entire international community by its courage in the face of the steamroller of the Russian army. Unfortunately, despite this national unity, Ukraine is devastated, counting its deaths by the thousands and millions of Ukrainians are forced to flee their country precipitately, with a heavy heart... The refugee crisis causes great instability.... The real world is reflected in the financial markets and the price of oil, often based more on beliefs than on facts. From London and the United States, the price of raw materials is negotiated by speculations which trigger increases in food prices which cause social crises and political instability as well as the Butterfly effect which is very well represented by the Artist Coco Sicart in this work. Oppression, corruption, unemployment cause wars, revolutions or migration crises and famine. Financial markets have a lot of power because of bills on food markets. The price of oil and food increases while production decreases. The curse of natural resources strikes when countries do not diversify their resources. The free market applies and people speculate to survive. People are starving and are being robbed or killed. Speculators play an amplifying role in these crises. The Butterfly Effect is spreading and causing Zones of Turbulence in the world as well as instability in populations. Speculators use algorithms and satellite data without caring about those who suffer from hunger, only opportunity allows them to enrich themselves, they hold a powerful weapon for all traders. Billions of dollars are moved in a few seconds, in a few clicks, according to market fluctuations, against the backdrop of an out-of-control humanitarian or climate crisis. Speculators are causing damage to suffering populations and waging a merciless price war. The stock market is totally irrational and speculators play the role of gravediggers. The source of income is a source of conflict because easy money breeds dictatorships. Money is used to maintain power in place and to invest in weapons. As Charlie Chaplin, the great actor, director and producer, idol of silent cinema and known for his character of Charlot, said so well: "We must learn not for the love of knowledge, but to defend ourselves against the contempt in which the world holds the ignorant" or "when destiny interferes with the fate of men, it knows neither pity nor justice" or "At no time in history has human respect shone with such a bright light". The artist Coco Sicart deliberately wanted to put Charlie Chaplin at the center of this work because he was an extraordinary and committed artist who did not fail to display his points of view through his films, in particular we think of the film "The Dictator" (1940). After a very long career of more than 60 years where he played in more than 80 films, in 1972, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts awarded him an honorary Oscar for his immense cinematographic contribution shortly before his death at the end of December 1977. We can even add that Charlie Chaplin was a genius who illuminated and upset the cinematographic sphere, he was one of a kind and he still shines today because he has and still touches our hearts in a universal way when we watch his films. In view of this global crisis, we can truly say that a society depends on the well-being of its humans and that economic well-being cannot be dissociated from the well-being of its people. In this conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky appears to us as an extraordinary media politician on the international level. This desperate Ukrainian president and warlord calls for help, urges Europe not to abandon his country, shouts to the whole world to help him because his Ukrainian people are fighting for peace and freedom in their country but also for peace in the world ... What is certain is that the geopolitics of emotion will seek in the people what will push them to take action .... It is obvious that we are all in an extremely dangerous situation where we could be spectators of even more devastating scenes of horror with the use of chemical weapons to massively destroy cities. We do not forget the disasters of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which remain forever anchored in our collective memory and which transformed our relationship with history. This conflict between Russia and Ukraine threatens our freedoms and our democracies and Volodymyr Zelensky urges the United Nations Security Council to no longer be passive in the face of the atrocities committed by Russia in order to stop all these massacres and restore Peace as quickly as possible. We could end this writing with these positive quotes from Charlie Chaplin: "Faith is the precursor of all our ideas, it is an extension of the spirit and from Chaos a star is always born." To conclude, we could simply add that from all the shameless lies always come glaring Truths. The Artist wrote on this subject, adding these few words: "To Tears Citizens! Let us face this dark destiny! To Tears Citizens! Let us remain standing in the face of this apocalyptic whole or this tragic nothing more!... Let us dream in unison of a beautiful link between Nations without losing our vision... before we disappear... To Tears Citizens! Let us not forget to extend our hands to this courageous Ukrainian people, out of breath, and their fear which holds back in the face of so many lives broken on their path. To Tears Citizens, let us not let History persist in letting us glimpse the desolation of martyred cities devastated by the bombs of the morning, To Tears Citizens, for the desire of a single man seeing himself crowned with his imperial dream, the entire planet trembles and wavers in the face of the fury of the Kremlin! To Tears Citizens, let us dream of a single line of union between Nations and Let us pray that this sacrosanct Freedom and this Peace may finally return to us!"
Publication of the work on Sunday, May 8, 2022.