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What does one do when their inner world has shattered into fragments, while life around them continues as if nothing has happened? Leaves turn green, the sun illuminates the architecture of the Ukrainian city of Ternopil — where the artist evacuated — people rush about their business, and above, she notices the white traces of air defense systems. The city lives on despite human anxiety and news from the front.
At the center of the canvas is a sterile white circle, where both time and the Hero are completely frozen.
“I lost the sense of pleasure. The image of the city no longer inspires me as it once did. The world continues its frantic movement, while the Hero is left with questions that the surrounding reality cannot answer,” says Olena Koliesnik.
This is a state familiar to anyone who has ever found themselves at the epicenter of catastrophe, feeling utterly alien within this surreal version of life.
Note: This work opens the section “Stupor” (the “freeze” response) from the series “Solomon’s Paradox” — 18 works created at the intersection of psychology, exploring reptilian survival instincts and the artist’s lived experience of emigration.
ARCHES Cold Pressed paper, 31 × 41 cm, 2023. Ukraine.
At the center of the canvas is a sterile white circle, where both time and the Hero are completely frozen.
“I lost the sense of pleasure. The image of the city no longer inspires me as it once did. The world continues its frantic movement, while the Hero is left with questions that the surrounding reality cannot answer,” says Olena Koliesnik.
This is a state familiar to anyone who has ever found themselves at the epicenter of catastrophe, feeling utterly alien within this surreal version of life.
Note: This work opens the section “Stupor” (the “freeze” response) from the series “Solomon’s Paradox” — 18 works created at the intersection of psychology, exploring reptilian survival instincts and the artist’s lived experience of emigration.
ARCHES Cold Pressed paper, 31 × 41 cm, 2023. Ukraine.
Artist
Olena Koliesnik
Material
ARCHES paper, watercolor
SIZE
31 × 41 cm