WAR

A statement that everyone bleeds the same color.

The energy released by the WAR series brings the world one step closer to real change. Unikel’s personal message is to “Stop all wars” — and to stand for peace.

The WAR collection is not for sale. Works still in the artist’s hands are available for institutional loan or museum acquisition.

The series is still growing. New canvases are in progress on the tyrannies and the wars that people are still living through: North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela; the killing fields of Cambodia; Sudan, Iran and Afghanistan. Different flags, different decades — the same arithmetic, paid by ordinary people.

The paintings will be shown with a film that runs from the first human conflict to the last nuclear flash — the one that ends the argument for everybody. WAR is also a work against nuclear weapons: the point of showing the end is that it does not have to happen.

UNIKEL — No One Left to Bury Us, monumental diptych, 2025

No One Left to Bury Us

Diptych · 96 × 60 in stretched canvas · Acrylic paint, mixed media · 2025 · Archival prep process, sealed and varnished

This monumental diptych unveils a haunting vision of a world consumed by war. The textured, scarred surfaces drip with the remnants of conflict, split by a fiery red chasm that symbolizes humanity’s self-destruction. The stark words “WAR” and “NO ONE LEFT TO BURY US,” etched like a final cry, suggest the last human hand scrawling its epitaph on a crumbling wall — a chilling testament to a civilization erased by its own fury, daring us to confront our complicity in this apocalyptic end.

Not for sale · Available for institutional loan or museum acquisitionMuseum & institutional enquiries →
UNIKEL with “No One Left to Bury Us”
Eight feet across · museum scale

Eight feet across · museum scale

Detail · No One Left to Bury Us

WAR · the manifesto

UNIKEL — Letters of Victory, 2025

Letters of Victory

48 × 60 in stretched canvas · Acrylic paint, mixed media · May 2025 · Archival prep process, sealed and varnished

This striking piece captures the raw essence of sacrifice, featuring letters penned by an American soldier to his family from the battlefields of France. A vivid crimson streak, like blood spilled on the page, slashes across the faded parchment, symbolizing the cost of freedom. Dedicated to Victory Day on May 8, it stands as a bold tribute to courage and loss, channeling the soldier’s final words into a timeless cry of triumph.

Not for sale · Available for institutional loan or museum acquisitionMuseum & institutional enquiries →
Detail · Letters of Victory · a soldier’s letters home, cut by the red line
The artist with “Letters of Victory”

The artist with “Letters of Victory”

WAR I–III · the bullet-casing trilogy

Three canvases, three wars. Each frame is built from many thousands of authentic bullet casings.

UNIKEL — WAR I: Syrian Bloodshed

WAR I · Syrian Bloodshed

36 × 48 in stretched canvas · Acrylic paint, mixed media · 2024 · Archival prep process, sealed and varnished

The never-ending civil war in Syria has tortured its people for a generation. This painting is an exploration of violence and harmony that creates a tumultuous interplay of colors that evoke a sense of both destruction and suffering.

Frame crafted from many thousands of authentic bullet casings, set by hand on wood — the frame alone makes the work exceptionally heavy. Overall dimensions are the canvas plus the casing frame.

Not for sale · Available for institutional loan or museum acquisitionMuseum & institutional enquiries →
UNIKEL with the WAR collection · studio, 2024
UNIKEL — WAR II: The Death of Peace

WAR II · The Death of Peace

36 × 48 in stretched canvas · Acrylic paint, mixed media · 2024 · Archival prep process, sealed and varnished

This work confronts the viewer with the brutality of war. The bold lettering dominates the canvas, a relentless echo of the suffering war inflicts that reverberates for generations. The red paint carries blood from a Russian and a Ukrainian, mixed in to symbolize how personal and painful this conflict is for both peoples.

Frame crafted from many thousands of authentic bullet casings, set by hand on wood — the frame alone makes the work exceptionally heavy. Overall dimensions are the canvas plus the casing frame.

Not for sale · Available for institutional loan or museum acquisitionMuseum & institutional enquiries →
Detail · The Death of Peace
UNIKEL — WAR III: A Land Painted Red

WAR III · A Land Painted Red

36 × 48 in stretched canvas · Acrylic paint, mixed media · 2024 · Archival prep process, sealed and varnished

“A Land Painted Red” captures the suffering of people in Israel and Palestine and delivers a powerful message about the enduring impact of war on everyday people. The rough texture adds to the overall sense of urgency and chaos. The work contains blood from people on opposing sides of the conflict, and images of victims.

Frame crafted from many thousands of authentic bullet casings, set by hand on wood — the frame alone makes the work exceptionally heavy. Overall dimensions are the canvas plus the casing frame.

Not for sale · Available for institutional loan or museum acquisitionMuseum & institutional enquiries →
Detail · A Land Painted Red · the missing, pressed into the canvas
UNIKEL — Hands of the Fallen, 2025

Hands of the Fallen

48 × 60 in stretched canvas · Acrylic paint, mixed media · 2025 · Archival prep process, sealed and varnished

A haunting tapestry of handprints — red, black, and dripping — etched across a war-torn canvas. The stark “WAR” above declares a battlefield’s legacy, where each mark represents a life lost, their final touch a defiant echo. The bleeding streaks amplify the chaos, transforming the piece into a visceral memorial of sacrifice and resilience.

Sold · Private collection, private sale

Shown here as part of the collection’s history.

The artist with “Hands of the Fallen”

The artist with “Hands of the Fallen”