“Our flag is constantly adding new elements so that minorities who felt invisible can feel themselves seen, and this reimagining continues that tradition,” Colm Molloy.
Tomorrow marks 100 days since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine which continues to displace and take the lives of millions of innocent people. As a response to the ongoing tragedy, Dublin is showing its support for Ukraine during the 2022 Pride Festival. The official website for Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride features a new Ukrainian solidarity flag. The new design puts a twist on the modern LGBTQ+ Pride flag design by surrounding it with the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag.
With the solidarity design already gaining global attention, GCN reached out to the graphic designer behind it all.
Since 2015, Colm Molloy has designed ‘thematic graphics’ for the Dublin Pride Festival. They explained more about the importance of the design and the message they hope to send.
“I designed the queer Ukrainian solidarity graphic to try and show the queer community there that we are thinking of them and they are cherished. If it resonates for you, I’m delighted,” Molloy said.
Badges with Molloy’s new graphic are on sale in the Dublin Pride Hub on Duke Street with proceeds going to the EPOA Ukrainian fund and LGBT Ireland.
In addition to the badges, Molloy has many other works available for purchase including art prints. Some of the designs include, ‘portraits of Thom McGinty the Diceman, a queer HIV activist largely remembered as a clown, and imagery from Irish mythology that reinstates the queerness and feminism.’
“I think there are parallels with our queer history, which is often erased. Even when our stories are told, the queerness is excised. We are made into sexless spinsters, good friends and lifelong companions, but never lovers. I like putting the sex and magic back into things, and that’s something I explore in a lot of my artwork,” they said.
The Ukrainian solidarity flag coincides with Ireland’s continuous support for Ukraine including donations from local businesses, flags hung around cities and taking in thousands of refugees.
If you are interested in supporting LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine, an emergency fund was set up by OutRight Action International which helps provide shelter and emergency support in nearby countries for Ukrainians.
“Symbols are what unite and divide people. Symbols give us our identity, our self-image, and our way of explaining ourselves to ourselves and to others. Symbols, in turn, determine the kinds of stories we tell; and the stories we tell determine the kind of history we make and remake,” Mary Robinson.
© 2022 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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