A child stands before a canvas, painting a bright, multi-petaled bloom. For a moment, the brushstrokes are just an exercise in color, a brief escape into creativity. Then, the child pauses and remarks: “That flower looks like a drone.” This chilling observation, born from a childhood spent under the shadow of aerial bombardment, serves as the title and the emotional core of a new exhibition opening at the Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall.
Opening on May 20, 2026, the exhibition “That Flower Looks Like a Drone” showcases the work of Danish artist Eske Touborg in collaboration with Ukrainian children and teenagers who have been rescued from Russian-occupied territories. The project is not merely an art show but a documented process of psychological recovery and a fundraiser for “Save Ukraine,” an organization dedicated to returning deported children to their families.
The intersection of trauma and the canvas
The project began when Eske Touborg, a Danish artist known for his large-scale works, felt a profound need to respond to the invasion of Ukraine. Working with the Danish aid organization “KOLO Nordic,” Touborg connected with “Save Ukraine” and traveled to their headquarters in Kyiv. There, he organized painting workshops for children who had recently survived the trauma of occupation and forced displacement.
During these sessions, Touborg rolled out massive canvases and provided the participants with acrylics and spray paints. The children were given total freedom to experiment. What started as hesitant movements often transformed into a cathartic release of energy. Touborg recalls how the initial shyness of the participants melted away into laughter and jokes as they began to pour paint onto the fabric.
After the workshops, Touborg took the canvases back to his studio in Denmark. He divided the large-scale collaborative works into individual fragments, finishing them by layering the children’s vibrant backgrounds with faded, ethereal portraits of the children themselves and imagery reflecting the stark reality of the war. The result is a series of pieces where the innocence of childhood play is physically overlaid by the ghosts of conflict.
Systematic erasure and the struggle for identity
The exhibition highlights a specific, harrowing aspect of the war: the systematic attempt to erase the identity of Ukrainian children in occupied zones. According to reports from humanitarian organizations, children taken to Russia or held in occupied territories are often given new names, forced to speak a different language, and taught a revised version of history to shift their loyalties.
In Touborg’s work, the “blurred” faces of the children serve as a metaphor for this attempted erasure. Yet, the bold, bright strokes of the original workshop remain visible beneath the artist’s additions. Touborg noted a recurring theme during the workshops: almost every child began by painting the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. Even when they later painted over these colors with other scenes, the foundation remained.
“It gives me goosebumps because it is such a powerful symbol,” Touborg said. “Beneath everything, no matter what you put on top or what happens, even if everything collapses, you still have that flag, you still have your home, you still have something worth fighting for.”
A call for continued vigilance
Dr. Rūta Kačkutė, Director General of the National Museum of Lithuania, initiated the exhibition’s residency at the Bastion. She emphasizes that the international community cannot afford to become desensitized to the ongoing crisis.
“The world-view of Ukrainian children is currently being formed in a distorted context where they have no security,” Kačkutė stated. “Multifaceted help for these children is vital. It shows them that the world sees what they are going through and that they are not forgotten. We cannot tire of talking about this.”
Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to purchase the artworks, with all proceeds going directly to “Save Ukraine” to support their mission of repatriating and rehabilitating children affected by the war.
“That Flower Looks Like a Drone” will be on display at the Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall (Bokšto g. 20, Vilnius) from May 20, 2026, until September 6, 2026. The exhibition is supported by the Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Source: BNS
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