Zeitgeist

What I am expressing, is a reflection of feelings within me that I need to bring into reality — articulations that reflect the world’s silent anguish in the form of verse, song, visual imagery — all of which represent personal experiences that transcend the limits of the darkness that surrounds us, and allows the light to shine through.

In a world where art is often conscripted into agendas, I walk a different path — one grounded in sovereignty, empathy, and sacred clarity. This is the compass I carry.

I stand as a voice of witness and mourning — for the dead, the displaced, the broken hearts of Ukraine, Syria, Gaza, Sudan, and beyond.

Bréon is passionate about the transformative power of creativity to inspire, bring people together, and to activate positive change.  

After a life-changing visit to war-torn Ukraine in September 2022, Bréon was invited to become a creative partner on Project Freedom, with Gennadiy Kurochka, Founder of CFC Big Ideas, based in Kyiv.

Project Freedom has been formed with the objective of building awareness to the ongoing crisis that western democracies face in the 21st Century. Anti-democratic forces have gathered and are gaining in strength. The war in Ukraine is the result of a powerful strategic alliance between totalitarian regimes, who are actively hostile to the principles of democracy.

We must awaken from our slumber and prepare for the battles that are looming — lest we are in danger of repeating the mistakes made in the 1930’s. Failure to defend democracy, only emboldens those tyrannical forces that are determined to undermine the entire world order.

In early September 2022, I made my way, via Poland, to Ukraine, where I would witness the devastation of this war for myself. Here was a country fighting for its survival and freedom.

The plight of the Ukrainian people spoke directly to me and my own experience growing up in the Scottish Borders — a highly contested region between Scotland and England that had endured conflict for centuries, and tragically, also what my Irish ancestors had suffered in their brutal struggle for independence.

Without doubt, my visit to Ukraine was to become a life-changing event.

By the end of that tumultuous month, the simmering pot had exploded not just in Ukraine but across the globe. The brave women of Iran had taken to the streets and the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement had emerged. Their plight has drawn attention more broadly to oppressed women from Tehran to Kabul, as well as what is happening under the other repressive regimes around the world.

Bréon – you are a great man and a genius poet! You feel and see things others don’t, and I consider myself very lucky that destiny arranged life in such a way that we are working with you now on one of the most important projects of our lifetime – Project Freedom!

Yuriy Sak, Adviser to The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, Aug 2023