Painting by Olena Koliesnik

Every story, like physical life itself, inevitably has its own ending, which we all know. For me, as for everyone who has experienced war, the answer to the question “what are you running from?” ultimately rested on the most obvious limit — escape from physical death. From oblivion, when you have not yet left anything behind, and the chance of doing so decreases when everything around you shakes from explosions. This work is a conceptual exit from the series, from earthly existence. The hero’s circle loses its clear boundaries, the waters of chaos roll over him, the dirt of reality, from which there is no longer any point in closing your eyes. If the first work was an escape from the inner, then the last one is an escape from the final end. That the first, that the last one is a fear that can squeeze me. I thought about what people and my own fears have shared with me. This picture fixes the final point: the run ends where I fall into inevitability. The final painting of the “Escape” section of the “Solomon’s Paradox” series is 18 paintings about three primary reactions of the psyche in crisis. “Solomon’s Paradox” is 18 paintings, three parts, and one common trajectory. I started this series at a time when I absolutely could not help myself. All around was a catastrophe: my country was in a state of full-scale war, my relatives were under occupation, personal relationships were on the verge, and I myself was in a complete stupor. Searching for ephemeral or real “salvation,” I delved into the knowledge of my own reactions and came across a psychological effect that gave the name to the entire project. Solomon’s Paradox is a phenomenon when we are able to give wise advice to others, but are powerless to help ourselves, because our own emotions cloud our vision. So this series became my personal way to distance ourselves and look at ourselves from the outside. The concept of the three-brain and the three states Conceptually, I built the series on the theory of the three-brain, namely on its primitive, reptilian part. This is the part that simply survives and is not able to think. This is the framework of life that I was in at the time. So I explored the "reptilian brain", its three basic reactions: fight, run, freeze. The three parts of the series are the three states that I experienced. They did not go in the "correct" order, because with such traumatic things there is never a correct order. The first created part is Stupor (freeze reaction). This is a person who is stuck near an invisible wall. The second part is Attack (Fight). A person who is fighting against his own bubble of ideas from the inside. The third part is Escape (Run). A person in motion. But what is this - a panicked escape or finally liberation? Details and symbolism The hero in each work is a stencil print. His silhouette has three poses, and he is desperately looking for his place in space. I created this series in three countries: Ukraine, Poland, and Spain. I used three different textures of paper for the works. All the details were found and put together as if by chance. But this chance works for the concept. I draw a parallel in this and see that this is what real life looks like, when you have no control over anything except for what you personally take responsibility for.