Voices of Ukraine

An image of a human-flag raises the question about the value of individual’s rights. The human itself and its individuality – is a main value for the state, its most precious resource.

To what extent is a modern human free? Humanity has been fighting for its freedom for a long time, all the whole way from the Medieval Ages, and now it has found itself under the reign of a new burden – from far-fetched thoughts and tons of information we perceive so quickly never having time to analyze or apply it.

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, these issues become the most urgent.

This work was presented for the first time on the shores of the Sea of Azov, Zaporizhzhia region

Now this territory is under occupation. Large-scale russian disinformation is currently being carried out in the occupied territories.

I want to show with this sculpture a boy who raised his hands high hope for a bright future for Ukraine

Now it is very difficult because every day in Ukraine people die and cities are shelled.

I also hope that the children who are in forced emigration will return to Ukraine.

This digital sculpt is a part of portrait series. In this one depicted personificated terror which stands behind horrible events in Ukraine 2022.

It is not only about one person but about all who’s trembling support the ideas of the one. May all the world remember him and his endless carelessness for humans life.

This graphic piece depicts literally a shot from real footage of russian armyusing incendiary magnesium shells in Ukraine.

Damage from these is unpredictable. So under the mesmerizing beauty of this starfall covers the nature of destruction.

Every day since 24th February of 2022 in Ukraine there are sirens across the different areas of the country telling to prepare for another missile strike.

And the targets are theaters, libraries, schools, civilians’ homes. Fear of being next is something that made lots of Ukrainians leave their land.

BABLBOI characters are part of project which shows different ideas and thoughts through simplified cartoonish characters. And this time they are victims of bombing, evacuating during chaotic run all around.

The series of more than 130 watercolor paintings on the paper, received from migration offices, was started in 2020 year and is still continuing.

The series of more than 130 watercolor paintings on the A4 format size papers, received by artist from different migration and bureaucracy offices, was started by Maria Kulikovska in 2020 year and is still continuing. These conflict drawings are the artist’s own metaphorical answers to all borders in the world, and Maria will paint her «answers» that long, as borders will exist:

«The human body becomes political, even without its consent, – Kulikovska explains. – At least, the record that I was born, raised, and lived in the Crimea is now very politicized. And it’s been going on since spring 2014. And every time the regular questions – «Who am I? Where am I from?» – are the most difficult and provocative issues. Despite the fact that I have always represented Ukraine and radically defended its interests at the international level, and inside my country I felt abandoned and unprotected. Very often I faced rejection for my queerness and bisexuality…».

This work is devoted to Ukrainian women who are very strong, courageous, wise, and beautiful. Many of these women are currently fighting on the front lines with the enemy for the independence of Ukraine.

The work was done in the colorful CMYK space to obtain the correct depth of color using raster shading in the style of a comic book with the heroes of the 70s.

A person’s native home and the place she was born play a significant role in how she will percieve of reality, as well as her past and future. Phantom pains that signify what was once a part of you and what is gone are a manifestation of the memories of the lost home. Memory loss can occur when neurons that store information about the home finally die. This project is a reflection of my own experience of internal migration, loss of home, and thoughts about Ukrainians’ migration processes as a result of the war that Russia started.

Work on the project began in 2017. Inspired by the usual work with the man model for the sculpture, which was supposed to become an academic one. Constant contemplation of the immortal gloomy face turned to permanent associations with the expressions of many known and unknown faces, which, regardless of mood and life circumstances, are defined by the slackness and lack of positive emotions, which eventually affect the static features of a face, which become sad permanently. This sculpture has become a stereotypical collective image of the post-Soviet person, a typical representative of the majority with a constant expression of exhaustion or boredom on the face.

The first step of the project, influenced by this impression, was the intervention in 2017 in public spaces, and cultural places of Krakow, Kyiv and Odesa. The silicone mask (mold) of this sculpture – a stationary pale harsh face, which I used to wear, caused different emotions of people – from surprise, and fear to laughing and daring questions. This immobile face was listening to excursions in museums, wandering around the universities, swimming in the sea, glanced at fairs and stores. The series of documentary photos was the first part of the project.

The second stage of the project is the reproduction of the mentioned sculpture, the creation of masks with minimal practically imperceptible differences, as an attempt to analyze the cause-effect relationships of emotionality, the absence of a positive connection between people, what meant first of all the high level of the vulnerability. Openness can make a person vulnerable, may lead to condemnation from others, or these emotions will not find support. Probably, in post-Soviet countries, this situation was caused by the past totalitarian control of locomotion, statements, and dissent, where openness was not encouraged. That is, genetic memory also affects our unconscious emotions or, in this case, their absence.

Something similar is outlined in Brown-Levinson’s theory of politeness. According to this theory, I suppose, people in the post-Soviet space can be rightly attributed to a “negative person” or to a representative of “negative politeness”. In contrast to positive politeness, negative politeness is oriented towards respect for the “negative person” to the recipient and is based primarily on distance (avoidance). Brown and Levinson emphasize formalism and restraint of negative politeness. That is, the more it seems to a person that her words, actions, and emotions can be a threat to him or to the recipient, the more he/she tries to mask this threat more thoroughly.

Of course, the most ideal strategy, in this case, will be a strategy that eliminates from the linguistic, and emotional behavior all that somehow can “threaten” the usual situation, that is, avoidance, masking from the environment.

Inspired by the usual work with the man model for the sculpture, which was supposed to become an academic one. Constant contemplation of the immortal gloomy face turned to permanent associations with the expressions of many known and unknown faces, which, regardless of mood and life circumstances, are defined by the slackness and lack of positive emotions, which eventually affect the static features of a face, which become sad permanently. This sculpture has become a stereotypical collective image of the post-Soviet person, a typical representative of the majority with a constant expression of exhaustion or boredom on the face.