— Art has the power to halt war, if only in the hearts of people.
— MFF
The Fate of a Soldier | About Project
The installation “Fate of a Soldier” is one of the first works in Sergey Melnikoff’s “Ashes of War” series. Every detail carries traces of battles, destruction, and human destiny. A special place within the composition is held by the golden bullet. In ordinary warfare, a bullet brings death; here, coated in a precious metal, it transforms into a symbol of sacrifice and eternal memory. The golden bullet is not a weapon, but a reminder that a soldier’s life is priceless. The nickel-plated surface lends the sculpture a solemn, luminous glow—almost sacred in its quality. It turns the remnants of war into a message of peace.
“Fate of a Soldier” is the silence that follows a gunshot.
It is a helmet pierced by a bullet, a witness to another’s death.
It is an empty cartridge belt, with only a single bullet remaining—a golden one.
No longer a weapon, it has become a symbol of sacrifice, memory, and freedom.
From the fragments of war, art is born.
From the metal that once carried death emerges a message of peace.
And every viewer who gazes upon this installation sees one truth:
a soldier’s life is priceless, and his death becomes an eternal guardian of the nation.
The Art of MFF | The central part of the installation “Fate of a Soldier”
The photos record the process of creating the installation “The Fate of a Soldier”: a stainless-steel pedestal with a trident assembled from fragments of mines and shells. The stand for the explanatory plaque is made from a 155 mm artillery shell. The details of the installation, cleaned with a sandblasting machine at the final stage before nickel plating and after the galvanic bath, resemble the wounds of war being healed before a new life. Metal once intended for destruction is transformed into a symbol of memory and strength.
The Art of MFF | Viktor Bielchyk is joining the components of the future installation using electric welding.
Photo © MFF
Death comes in the form of a bullet, but art gives it a different meaning—a reminder of the value of life.
The installation “Fate of a Soldier” is one of the first works in Sergey Melnikoff’s symbolic series “Ashes of War.” Created in the spring of 2023, it was conceived not as a decorative object, but as a profound artistic manifesto exploring questions of life and death, war and peace, memory and oblivion.
Every element of the installation bears the tangible traces of war. The leading wheel from an armored personnel carrier, delivered to the artist’s studio by soldiers of the Odessa Border Guard, became the foundation of the composition. A helmet pierced by bullets, belonging to a Russian invader, was found on the soil of Kherson—the very ground where the fate of Ukraine’s freedom and future was being decided. In this way, the artist received material witnesses of mortal struggle, which he transformed into a work of art.
The installation’s composition centers on this helmet, surrounded by a machine-gun belt. Only one bullet remains within it—a 999.9-fineness gold round. Its symbolic placement opposite the bullet hole that brought death to the invader creates a dramatic contrast: where there was once death, now shines a noble metal.
In conventional understanding, a bullet embodies death and destruction. In Sergey Melnikoff’s interpretation, however, it acquires the opposite meaning. Coated in gold, it becomes a symbol of sacrifice, eternal memory, and the priceless value of human life. It serves as a reminder that every soldier defending his homeland is not a faceless “cog” of war. His life is unique and sacred, and his death is a sacrifice that obliges future generations to remember the cost of freedom.
Special mention should also be made of the installation’s nickel-plated surface, which gives it a luminous, almost sacred glow. What yesterday was a weapon of war is today transformed into an artistic artifact speaking the language of peace. The fragments of destruction, arranged into a composed whole, resonate as a voice of memory, calling upon us not to repeat the tragedies of the past.
“Fate of a Soldier” is not merely an artwork; it is a kind of memorial. It is a space for reflection, where life and death, war and peace, memory and oblivion converge. There is no pathos or romanticization of combat here—only an honest gaze into the heart of war, into its bloody and tragic essence. At the same time, it conveys a luminous faith that even the ashes of war can be transformed into a call for humanity.
Thus, the installation “Fate of a Soldier” serves as a metaphor for a warrior whose death was not in vain. It reminds the world that freedom always has a price, and that even a single bullet can change history—transforming from an instrument of death into a symbol of memory and peace.