The Silent Uprising of an Angel
Dedicated to the Ukrainian soldiers who never reached their twentieth year — young souls taken from the earth and received into eternity.
The sculpture is expected to be completed in December 2027.
The Silent Uprising of an Angel taking shape in the artist’s workshop — a monumental sculpture assembled piece by piece from thousands of fragments of war.
The foot of The Silent Uprising of an Angel during the creation process.
This page documents the ongoing creation of a major work from the Ashes of War series. It brings together a live production timeline, technical documentation, process photography, and supporting materials, forming a complete record of the work as it advances toward completion.
About This Page
This is not a conventional artwork presentation.
It is a live project record.
Its purpose is to preserve the chronology of the work’s creation, to document its technical evolution, and to present the materials that accompany its development under wartime conditions.
Each stage shown here reflects actual progress in the artist’s studio in Odesa.
The face of the Angel sculpture bears the likeness of Daria Lopatina, military call sign “Delta,”nineteen years of age, a defender of Ukraine, a soldier of the 12th Special Forces Brigade of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov.”
For the measure of a life is not in the multitude of its days, but in that which the soul will not forsake when the hour of darkness comes.
A Monument to Transcendence—Poised to Make History
The sculpture The Silent Uprising of an Angel is being crafted using a one-of-a-kind technique developed by MFF. The material for this winged figure consists of fragments of artillery shells and mines collected from active war zones in Ukraine.
The Silent Uprising of an Angel is not merely a sculpture in the making from fragments of war. It is a voice cutting through silence to proclaim: even from metal that once carried death, light can be born. There is no forgetting here — only transformation. And everyone who meets the gaze of this Angel will feel it: the spirit can rise, even when its wings are burned.
- The Silent Uprising of an Angel — Visual Narrative →
Sergey Melnikoff (MFF) refining the anatomical details of the Angel’s clay foot model before recreating its form in fragments of metal from the war.
The MFF European Studio, Skaistkalne, Latvia.
10 August 2026.
Sergey Melnikoff (MFF) with his daughter, Anastassia, in the artist’s studio on the occasion of his birthday.
Odesa, Ukraine
13 July 2025
Current State of the Artwork as of 14 March 2026
Project Overview
Technical Specifications
Medium
Mixed metal (artillery fragments)
Technique
Ashes of War
Materials
Original battlefield fragments
Dimensions
200 × 140 cm (79 × 55 in)
Estimated weight
500 kg
Planned finish
Gold (999.9) and nickel electroplating, wings and base platform only
Status
Status
In progress
Started
May 2025
Current phase
Body of the sculpture
Completed
Wings
Estimated completion
December 2027
Location
Odesa, Ukraine / Skaistkalne, Latvia
Provenance:
Held by The Soul of Ukraine Foundation, Inc. since its creation.
Attachment interfaces for two-metre wings, designed to ensure secure installation while allowing effortless removal for gold plating in an electroplating bath.