embroidery 153x63 cm

My country, Ukraine, now stands at the very edge of no return. Two and a half years of a bloody, unjust war, with a knot of insoluble contradictions, have led to a situation where Ukraine could be forced into a "peace" that might make the division of the country inevitable. A country that has endured various difficult times is once again changing beyond recognition. Coexisting with an empire - albeit not of the same scale, but with similar ambitions—has proven to be impossible for now. Over the course of the last year, I fell into the process of embroidering which became my prayer for the survival of my homeland. I recalled an old
tradition found in traditional Ukrainian embroidery: the tree of life, a symbol of eternal life. The remaining motifs are taken from ancient Ukrainian embroideries on towels and tablecloths, featuring images such as George slaying the dragon, a double-headed eagle with symbols of power, angels, and birds. My remembrance of the many cities in Ukraine by their original names and the years they were founded - cities whose fates are
now very different.

“and there will be no enemy,

no rival on the renewed land,

there will be son and
will be mother, and there will be people on the land."

/Taras Shevchenko

As the vision for Ukraine, expressed for by the national poet of Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko, written 200 years ago and quoted in the work.