Homages of war

Solo exhibition in Vienna Gallery

This series of homages is about war and the feeling of war. I turned to the works of artists from around the world, reinterpreting them through the lens of our current situation in Ukraine. I poured out my pain through images that are familiar and close to us, but in our new reality, everything has changed.
Each work I chose to reinterpret has its own story, which I experienced and understood in my own way. It is an attempt to show our present reality through the prism of familiar images.

Familiar compositions, famous figures and even idols acquire a different meaning and mood in the reality that Ukrainians, both in Ukraine and abroad, experience every day. What was once familiar and native to us has long since changed.

World history is cyclical. What has happened before may happen again, with slight variations. This is a reflection on legacy: what legacy did previous generations leave behind, and what legacy will we leave for future generations? It is a reflection on the lessons humanity passes through from one cycle to another.
There is also the question of territorial inheritance. From a historical perspective, Ukraine has a different historical code from Europe. The new reality of war is superimposed on all of this.

So what is the picture today, and do we all see it in the same way?

Primavera

Oil on canvas

160х240sm

2022

Homage to “Primavera” by Sandro Botticelli.

In Latin, primavera means spring. This is how spring looked in Ukraine in 2022

Venus of mariupol

Oil on canvas

115x160sm

2022

Homage to “Venus of Urbino” by Titian

The work is a reference and dedication to a pregnant woman who died as a result of a bombing at the maternity hospital in Mariupol in 2022.

Sebastian

Oil on canvas

160x90sm

2022

Homage to “Saint Sebastian” by Titian.

A reference to the victims who were tortured and killed in the trenches around Mariupol.

Kherson still life

Oil on canvas

140x160sm

2022

Homage to the highly detailed still-life tradition of the Northern Renaissance.
The crumpled tomatoes and watermelons evoke Kherson and the reality of a land transformed by war.

Lucretia

Oil on canvas

160x115sm

2022

Homage to “The Death of Lucretia” by Joos van Cleve.

A reference to women who suffered sexual violence during the occupation of Ukrainian territories.

The death of adam

Oil on canvas

130x240sm

2022
Homage to “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo

The work is a reference to Ukrainian military prisoners who were burned alive in Oleshky in 2022.

Kiss

Oil on canvas

160x160sm

2022

Homage to “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt.

A kiss that may already be the last.

Lady without an ermine

Oil on canvas

62x47sm

2022

Homage to “Lady with an Ermine” by Leonardo da Vinci.

portrait of a lady
А3

portrait of a Venetian woman

Portrait of Little Girl

portrait of a man
A3

beautiful Faroniera

Oil on canvas

60X45sm

2022

Homage to "La Belle Ferronnière" by Leonardo da Vinci.

Girl with a unicorn

Oil on canvas

160x100

2023

Homage to “Lady with a Unicorn” by Raphael.

Love does not always win

Oil on canvas

160x110sm

2023

Homage to “Love Always Wins” by Caravaggio

Castle

Oil on canvas

300x200sm

2023

Homage to a cathedral in Warsaw.

A reference to the destruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa during the Russian missile attack of July 2023.

Last supper

Oil on canvas

160x310sm

2023

THE LAST SUPPER IN HROZA

Homage to “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci

On October 5, 2023, a Russian missile struck a café in the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, where a memorial reception was being held following the reburial of a Ukrainian soldier. 59 civilians were killed, including an eight year old child. The victims were local residents who had gathered to commemorate the deceased and share a meal with his family.

This work is an homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”, reinterpreted through the reality of the war in Ukraine.

Inscription in Latin:

Hic est sanguis meus, qui pro multis gentibus effundetur.

“This is my blood, which will be shed for the benefit of many.”