While online protest art attracts the public’s attention, the act of its creation or the artists themselves often remain overlooked. This opinion piece will focus on Belarusian protest art in the digital sphere in summer–fall 2020 as exemplified by the work of Antanina Slabodchykava, the artist behind the logo of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Campaign Headquarters. Used by millions of Belarusians worldwide, her Heart, Fist, and Victory Sign (2020) became one of the most recognizable symbols of the protests. This essay narrates the story of the logo’s creation, introduces other artwork by Slobodchikova, and evaluates her protest work in the context of her entire oeuvre. While the artist’s usage of colors and mediums is somewhat new, the thematic continuity with her previous works dedicated to womanhood, motherhood, and childhood continues to resurface. All in all, by producing new images for the Belarusian revolution, the artist successfully found new expressivity without sacrificing the thematic, emotional, or intuitive components of her creative process.
Image credit: Antanina Slabodchykava, Logo of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s United Headquarters Campaign (2020)