WAR, BUCHA, UKRAINE

The paintings were inspired by the first days of the Russian army’s armed assault on the independent state of Ukraine. The inspiration for the beginning of the series came from a February 25 photograph showing a slain Russian soldier covered in snow, taken by Tyler Hicks of the New York Times. Inspired by the snow in the first image, I began using white separating it from the context of the photograph. For me, white until then was an obvious symbol of purity, hope, innocence and lightness, an expression of spirituality and rebirth. The one I used is no longer “pure,” it’s a mixture of black and its own different shades. That’s why it is heterogeneous. Applied layer by layer, like snow, it covers up more details and reveals new meanings. The works in the war series are my need to tell someone’s existence that I saw them and wept over them. It is also my very personal and intimate tribute to life and death.