Painting by Olena Koliesnik

What to do when your inner world has shattered into pieces, and life around you goes on as if nothing has happened? The leaves are turning green, the sun illuminates the architecture of the Ukrainian city of Ternopil, where I evacuated from Kharkiv in 2022, people are rushing about their business, and above my head I notice white traces of air defense. The city lives, despite the anxiety and news from the front. In the center of the canvas is a sterile white circle, where time and the hero have completely frozen. Then I lost pleasure. The image of the city no longer inspired me as before. The world continues its frantic movement, and the hero of the works asks questions that the surrounding world cannot solve. This is a state familiar to anyone who has ever felt like a complete stranger in this surreal dual life. Note: The painting opens the section “Stupor” (the “freeze” reaction) from the series “Solomon’s Paradox” — 18 works created at the intersection of psychology, about reptilian survival instincts and the artist’s real history of emigration. 2023, Ukraine