“Solomon’s Paradox”

“Solomon’s Paradox” is a series of 18 paintings, three parts, one trajectory. Olena Koliesnik began this series at a time when she could not help herself in any way. The country was in a state of full-scale war. Her family was under occupation. Her relationship was on the edge. She herself was in a state of paralysis. It was then, while reading various literature and searching for some kind of ephemeral or real “salvation,” that she came across a psychological effect — the one that gave the entire series its name. Solomon’s Paradox describes our ability to give wise advice to others, but not to ourselves, because our own emotions obscure our vision. This series became her way of looking at herself from the outside. Conceptually, the work is built on the triune brain theory, focusing on the primitive reptilian part — the one that ensures survival but does not think. Just as she was at that time. The “reptilian brain” operates through three responses: fight, flight, or freeze. The three parts of the series reflect these three states, lived through by the artist — not in the “correct” order, because with such experiences there is never a correct order. Sequence of the works: The first part — Stupor. A person frozen in front of an invisible wall. The second part — Attack. A person fighting against their own internal bubble of perceptions. The third part — Escape. A figure in motion — but is it escape or liberation? The protagonist in each work is a cut-out imprint, like a stencil. The silhouette appears in three positions, searching for a place within space. The series was created across three countries: Ukraine, Poland, and Spain. Three different paper textures — everything was found and assembled almost by chance. Yet this randomness serves the concept: this is what real life looks like when you control nothing except what you choose to take responsibility for.