Jacques Schneider, LUkraine Reveal Unity T-Shirt at UA Days Opening

On the evening of Thursday 6 June 2024, UA Days ambassador Jacques Schneider and LUkraine unveiled the newest result of their collaboration: a specially designed T-shirt to symbolise the unity of Luxembourg and Ukraine, kicking off the UA Days at the Boutique Jacques Schneider in Luxembourg-Ville.

Around two years ago, Luxembourg artist Jacques Schneider, launched an art project – Lëtzebuerg #StandWithUkraine. It was a large wall in his workshop, that people could sign to show their “support for peace”. Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Jacques Schneider explained that it took him and LUkraine several months to find the symbol that both countries have in common, expressing the same values and which can give “hope and strength”. It then took the artist many attempts to imagine this “undated” Melusina, the mermaid, “proud and brave”, jumping out of the water, her head held up and looking forward to the future. In the background, the maritime flag of Luxembourg with its five blue stripes, has the last stripe replaced with yellow, thereby recreating the Ukrainian flag.

Jacques Schneider emphasised that, during these two years of a difficult geopolitical context, covered by the media daily, the Russia-Ukraine war can become a reality that people almost “get used to”. “A symbol can give an impulse with a different reflection,” he explained, noting that as an artist, working with symbols can mean bringing the focus back onto universal values such as “democracy and freedom, conquests we need to make every day.”

Melusina is older than 1000 years, and stands for self-determination as well as women’s rights. Melusina’s position is about going towards freedom, the element of “physical integrity” being key in this context. The Ukrainian mermaids, rusalkas, are said to be dangerous only when not “left in peace,” LUkraine representatives added. The text on the back of the T-shirt reflects this sentiment in three languages: English, Luxembourgish and Ukrainian: “I am proud. I am tender. I am beautiful. I am fearless. Forever young. With millennia of history upon my shoulders. I will not harm you unless you offend me. I defend my own world. I fight for what I believe in.”

Neither “nationalism”, nor “mockery”, nor “propaganda”, this symbol stands for mutual respect, the unity and connection between the Ukrainian and Luxembourgish cultures, highlighting shared values and Luxembourg’s solidarity with Ukraine, the artist added. Respect is tied to “physical, moral, territorial” integrity, the artist noted, emphasising the multinational and multicultural aspects of Luxembourg – 170 nationalities cohabitating with different cultures and ways of life.

Jacques Schneider also explained that a T-shirt is like a “sign”, to be worn with pride, showing one’s support and affiliation, ultimately conveying a message.

This first LUkraine event launched the second edition of UA Days and offered visitors the possibility to sign a T-shirt in a renewed show of support and to partake in a tombola whose proceeds would go towards a charity in Ukraine currently helping evacuate people in regions destroyed by the ongoing Russian invasion.