As the Russian invasion of Ukraine escalates, more and more artists around the world have been expressing solidarity with Ukrainians who are suffering the consequences of the brutal ongoing conflict.

Portuguese sand artist, Vitor Raposo, dedicated one of his sand paintings to promote peace in Ukraine.

In a short video, that is now going viral, one can see Raposo slowly making a large sand painting that shows his trademark mandala motifs and a dove signifying peace and love. He then writes, “Paz Na Ucrania”, which translates to “Peace in Ukraine”, alongside his sand drawings. It appears that the large sand painting is drawn on the famous Praia Maria Luísa in Portugal.

Praia Nova / Lagoa
(Vitor Raposo) pic.twitter.com/6fJpGlczWP

— Luciene Cardoso (@LuCardoso_84) March 6, 2022

Raposo is not the first sand artist to use their craft to express solidarity with Ukraine. Last Friday, award-winning Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik shared a picture of his evocative figurine that urged world leaders to put an end to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

My SandArt at Puri beach with message STOP WAR . #RussianUkrainianWar pic.twitter.com/sSg4fIN8f9

— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) March 4, 2022

Pattnaik’s sand work showed Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy facing each other with a child standing between and a fire in the background. The words “Stop War” can be seen boldly written over the child.

Earlier this month, institutions like Met Opera and Teatro Real also paid tribute to Ukraine. More recently, a video went viral in which violinist Vera Lytovchenko is seen playing inside a bomb shelter to soothe people huddled there.