ACTUALIZATION OF THE HERO ARCHETYPE IN THE PERIOD OF UKRAINIAN MILITARY RESISTANCE 2014–2024 ON THE EXAMPLE OF KYIV MURALS

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine how the Hero archetype is actualized in Ukrainian society by means of street art (on the example of Kyiv murals) of the military resistance period of 2014–2024, to investigate the role of the archetype in the consolidation of society. A city mural is a complex iconic object, the study of which requires both substantive and formal analysis, that are its meaningful and artistic-contextual components. Therefore, the study is based on two cultural studies paradigms – analytical-psychological and semiotic. The first one was applied to the plot analysis of the samples of Kyiv street art, which appeal to the Hero archetype and reflect the stages of the monomyth of the “Hero’s journey”. The theoretical basis here are the works of Carl Gustav Jung and Joseph Campbell. The study of semiotic aspects of Kyiv’s environmental art is based on the work of Slovenian researcher Mita Velikoni and national researchers Nadiya Mikhno, Alla Vasyurina, and Alla Klimova. The scientific novelty of the study is that it conducts a cultural analysis of samples of Kyiv street art based on analytical-psychological and semiotic paradigms to demonstrate the actualization of the Hero archetype in Ukrainian culture in the conditions of the military resistance of 2014–2024. Ukrainian murals, created during the armed resistance period of 2014–2024, are an important socio-cultural phenomenon that not only reflects the current events of our historical era but also appeals to archetypal images of national culture, in particular the Hero archetype. Kyiv murals have become an integral part of the city’s visual environment, contributing to the formation of national consciousness and memorializing and glorifying the feats of Ukrainian defenders. Thanks to the combination of aestheticization and symbolization techniques, murals broadcast monomyth episodes about the Hero's journey, thus interpreting current social and political events, which, in turn, contributes to social consolidation.