A graphic journey through repression, exile, and artistic resistance
On Thursday, December 4, “Zàca! Reality and Poetry through Comics” opens, an event that brings together art, civic engagement, and visual storytelling. The opening day will feature one of the most lucid and courageous voices in contemporary graphic reportage: Victoria Lomasko.
After the inauguration of the artist’s exhibition at the A. Baldini Municipal Library, the festival continues at C’entro – Supercinema Santarcangelo with the screening of the documentary Tree of Violence, directed by Anna Moiseenko (Autlook Filmsales / Draw For Change), with Lomasko in attendance.
Over the past ten years, the Russian graphic artist has devoted her work to depicting Putin’s Russia from the inside, taking part in demonstrations, listening to stories from the margins, and transforming political events and social tensions into powerful, essential, and unflinching panels. Through her graphic reportage, she has explored the often invisible thread that connects domestic violence with state violence, giving voice to those who suffer, resist, or try to understand.
But everything changes with the invasion of Ukraine. The threats against her grow increasingly serious, forcing her into a difficult and painful decision: continue risking her safety, or reinvent her future elsewhere.
In the documentary, filmed between 2021 and 2022, Anna Moiseenko follows the artist at a crucial moment. Foresight and anxiety permeate her work: in the years leading up to the war, Lomasko devoted herself to creating a large mural project, born from the awareness of an imminent conflict and the need to address violence — both visible and underground — as a structural aspect of Russian society.
When Putin announces the “special military operation” in Ukraine and labels dissenters “traitors to be spat out like flies,” it becomes clear to Lomasko that she can no longer continue working in her own country. She leaves everything behind and embarks on a new path, carrying with her the experience of a unique artistic journey and the determination to keep bearing witness.
“Zàca!” thus opens under the banner of courage and remembrance, offering a necessary and urgent look at how comics can become a tool for political analysis, visual poetry, and civil resistance.
