Four years after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the German performance artist Volker-Johannes Trieb sets a silent but powerful example for the freedom of Europe in the early morning hours of February 24, 2026 in Colmar, Alsace.
Image Avobe: Installation views © Volker-Johannes Trieb, photos: Hermann Pentermann Photography
A symbolic installation will be erected on a traffic island in Colmar (45 Route de Strasbourg). At its center is a car destroyed in the Russo-Ukrainian War, which has already been displayed at key locations on previous anniversaries of the war’s outbreak – for the second anniversary in 2024 at the Memorial to the Soviet Dead of the Second World War on Straße des 17. Juni in Berlin, Germany, and for the third anniversary in 2025 in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Berlin.
The vehicle is now deliberately placed in relation to the Statue of Liberty – the symbol that embodies freedom, self-determination, and democratic responsibility across national borders. The sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was born in Colmar. Trieb positions the Ukrainian vehicle in front of the smaller replica of his statue, which has stood in Colmar since 2004.
The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States of America by France as a gift, not least to commemorate the American independence of 1776 and the shared ideals of freedom, democracy, and self-determination. The idea for it originated in 1865, and it was officially dedicated in New York City in 1886. As a Franco-American collaborative project, it continues to stand not only for the freedom of the USA, but also for a transatlantic promise of freedom that shaped Europe after 1945 – and whose defense is once again being challenged today.
Inside the shattered Ukrainian car are structures made of geometric mirrors. Anyone looking into the vehicle sees their own reflection. This makes each viewer part of the installation – and part of the question of what freedom means today and who is prepared to defend it. A wreath in the colors of Ukraine complements the installation, commemorating the victims of the war and the ongoing threat to the European peace order.
“The freedom we enjoy in Europe today is not something to be taken for granted,” says the artist Volker-Johannes Trieb. “It was given back to us by the Allies after 1945, and it is being defended in Ukraine today. Anyone who looks into this car and sees themselves should understand: This freedom concerns us all.”
The vehicle was brought from Ukraine to Germany with the support of the German association “Meckenheim hilft”, with special help from its chairman Stefan Pohl; now it is going to France.
The action will take place as an unauthorized, temporary installation in the early morning hours of February 24, 2026 – as an artistic intervention in public space and as a silent but clear political appeal to politics and society. Volker-Johannes Trieb: “The installation reminds us: Solidarity with Ukraine is not just a word – it is our shared responsibility for the freedom of Europe.”
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WHEN?
Tuesday, 24. Februar 2026 – 6 pm
WHERE?
Verkehrsinsel, 45
Route de Strasbourg
68000 Colmar, Frankreich
