Description

Mikhail Ray
Our Daily Bread, 2012

digital photo, collage, print on dibond
50 × 40 cm

Artist's Quote:
This work is a visual embodiment of one of the most profound and sacred phrases in Christian culture: «Give us this day our daily bread.»

Today, for people living in regions of Ukraine at the epicenter of war, these words have ceased to be a metaphor. They have become a literal, desperate plea for the most basic needs: food, survival, the chance to see another day. When everything around is in ruins and access to essentials is cut off, the value of a piece of bread takes on a cosmic scale.

My work explores this contrast — between those who perceive “daily bread” as a spiritual or aesthetic notion, and those for whom it is the only source of life. For me, as an artist, art itself is that same “bread” — a way to express my deepest truths. At this point, our needs converge. This work is my contribution, my way of transforming the aesthetic into something vital.