It has been difficult for the Ukraine supporters to leave their mark on the digital canvas.
The last day of r/place was Monday, and it was where users had a limited number of days to add to a digital canvas. When r/place is closed, the end result is a bunch of images that represent the community. The collaborative art project was first introduced on April 1st. Over one million people uploaded 16 million images over the course of three days. r/place is back for the first time in over a year and it is a digital frontline for showing solidarity with Ukraine.
When the r/ place was announced again, I knew that Ukraine would have to be represented properly.
A concerted effort is required to create a pixelated image on the r/place canvas. Millions of people are constantly changing their appearance. To make any real progress and keep it requires a group effort. A group of people with similar interests come together to create an image. Once the image is created, it goes on. The group has to form alliances with its neighbors in order to protect its place on the canvas. R/place mimics the delicate balance of international diplomacy because of the limited space on it.
The group wanted to create a mural of peace and prosperity, showing off Ukrainian culture and history. The upper lefthand corner of the canvas devoted to Ukraine has been occupied by the r/placeukraine for the past four days. The fighter jet that President Zelenskyy is wearing is part of the mythical Ukrainian army.
Initially, the public made a massive Ukrainian flag, which destroyed other artwork and angered other users, who in turn started to disassemble the flag.
The design and execution of this artwork has been coordinated with the help of a dedicated team. We started planning it as we went, asking our community what they wanted to see, and working closely with Ukrainian members to ensure we stayed true to their culture. Design ideas were voted on. The templates for the designs were shared out. The cells in the spreadsheet have a number and color that are similar to the canvas, making it easy to build out the design.
At the time of this writing, new designs are being proposed and added, and existing designs are still evolving. The Ukrainian flag had a yellow band written on it, but participants agreed to clean it up because they felt it disrespected the flag and looked ugly. At some point, r/placeukraine seemed to make an alliance with a French group, which allowed the French symbol of liberty to extend into the Ukraine flag. She wears blue and yellow instead of the red cap that would represent France. r/placeukraine has friendly relations with r/placefrance and a group fromDenmark, but it has had to keep fighting to maintain its design on the canvas. As other colors try to sneak in, the Redditors have to hold the line in defense of their borders. Zelenskyy had suspected Russian bots trying to destroy his face. The attack prompted an announcement from the linchpin of the army to protect Zelenskyy.
An announcement confirmed that it would close today, but didn't say what time, but the response has been positive.
UPDATE: Apr. 4, 2022, 8:10 p.m. EDT This story has been updated to correct the r/placeukraine moderator's username to u/anondeadpixel.
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