Artist Statement

The main focus of my research during my MA studies has been a reflection on my childhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, during the 1990s. I chose this theme largely because of the current situation in Ukraine. By analysing my own experiences from the early years of Ukraine’s independence (after 1991), I aimed to understand not only my personal memories but also the broader social changes that followed seventy years under a totalitarian system. I believe that understanding the flow of history is essential for interpreting the present.

Throughout my research, I tried to explore this topic from different perspectives. I spoke with many Ukrainians from various generations and backgrounds, each offering a unique view of life and identity. My goal was to find questions that could reflect multiple layers of human experience.

In my artistic practice, I experimented with a range of methods and materials to express the emotions and reflections connected to that period. I did not want to present only one side of the theme—whether through interviews or visual works. My aim was to create a metaphor for time itself: fragmented, multilayered, and filled with subtle details that reveal different meanings depending on one’s perspective. As Walter Benjamin observed, “For the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial.”
This sense of transformation—both material and temporal—lies at the heart of my practice. By combining wood, ceramics, metal, and printmaking, I construct a living space that is sentimental yet non-functional, material yet dreamlike. The changing nature of materials mirrors the instability of time and memory in a world where nothing remains constant.

In the final stage of my project, I explored parallels between my childhood experiences and those of modern Ukrainian children. The first part used my own childhood photos and drawings, while the final part incorporated the works and perspectives of children growing up today, as well as photos of Kharkiv nowdays.