Esperanto: HORRORS OF WAR I dig up corpses in Ukraine to use as war art inspiration – I found body of a 27-year-old while standing next to his mom

Alex Kent

21:19, 6 May 2022

AN artist volunteered his time to help Ukrainians dig up corpses in between painting a mural of the war's atrocities.

Roberto Marquez, who is known as Robenz, held his paintbrushes while he spoke to The Sun from the wreckage of a bridge that connected Ukraine and Poland, a passage to freedom for refugees.

Roberto Marquez, who is known as Robenz, held his paintbrushes while he spoke to The Sun about his mural and digging up corpses in UkraineCredit: Alex Kent

The artist was emotional when talking about digging up the corpse next to the victim's momCredit: Alex Kent

In between painting his mural, he "never expected" to be helping Ukrainians dig dead bodies out of the ground.

"It was very hard at first because it never happened before," he said.

But the hardest moment of his time in the war-torn country was when he pulled the body of a 27-year-old man from the ground next to the victim's mom.

"His mom was there all the time," Robenz said. "This was about an eight-hour investigation because it's a war crime.

"When we finally pulled him out and they put him in that black bag, the mom was sitting on a chair because she looked like she was going to collapse.

"Next thing we know is she's kneeling right next to her son," said Robenz, who imitated the grieving mom dropping to a knee.

"That was a real strong experience. And if it was difficult for me, I don't want to even think about how difficult it is for the mom. I don't think there was anything that was going to help her."

THE UKRAINIAN VERSION OF 'GUERNICA'

Robenz will leave a piece of him behind when he finishes his mural, which is his own twist on one of Picasso's most famous works "Guernica."

The iconic piece full of abstract figures is considered by many art critics to be one of the most powerful anti-war paintings in history.

Robenz replaced Picasso's dark colors with splashes of blue and yellow to symbolize the Ukrainian flag.

"All of my works have an event, a story. This one is a catastrophe," Robenz said.

From the bridge, he pointed to the war-torn country and said he's bringing what he sees to the canvas.

"We don't pay attention to the way we act," Robenz said. "Hopefully, when the next generation sees this painting, it will be a strong statement so that they realize we made the mistakes that they shouldn't make."