War devastates not only the material but also the inner world of a person. The war-caused chaos undermines the very foundation of the self: beliefs and perceptions about ourselves and the world we live in, leaving gaps in our thoughts and emptiness in our souls. What to fill it with, to restore integrity? Only with something greater and deeper than yourself… For the artist Viktoria, it is nature. It has become the source of hope and inspiration that heals the wounded soul and awakens life, as if after a long winter.
Artworks re-create the journey of an individual to the source of strength in nature, a unique individual’s path to tranquility and understanding. Interacting with nature is therapy of a kind for a vulnerable heart and restless mind. Nature balances and heals, restores and replenishes; in its embrace, we have the luxury to cast aside any masks or roles – and our soul breathes freely, uplifted by the sense of unity with the entire world. Nature fascinates us with a variety of colors and forms, teaches us to be patient and observant; astonishes us with its simultaneous complexity and simplicity – and, like a mother deity, takes us back to our true selves.
The picturesque nature of the artist’s homeland – the Kherson region – has always been her source of strength and inspiration. However, occupiers are ruthlessly devastating it today, destroying the beauty and all life around them – plundering villages and cities, burning reserved steppes, mining the Dnieper floodplains, the coast and waters of the Black Sea… Demolition of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam in the summer of 2023 was a cynical act of ecocide that caused a large-scale ecological disaster, destroyed unique ecosystems, and caused irreparable harm to the animal and plant world, hundreds of Red Book species. Where the Russian occupier has passed, only ashes, desolation, and decay remain. But nature after all spouts back to life – because nature is life itself…
In artworks, the artist creates a unique world of collage that reflects the connection between humans and nature, the fragility of life and the fluidity of time. Thus, the nakedness of a human body in collages symbolizes naturalness, vulnerability, and reset. And Viktoria’s memories of the lovely landscapes of her homeland are intertwined in her works with impressions of the majestic nature of Estonia, where the artist currently lives. Every tree root, every pebble or leaf holds a mystery and wisdom of millennia, that resonate with creative inspiration and serene clarity of thought. When you are at one with nature, there come the answers to the most complex questions, to each their own.
Аrtworks open doors to a new dimension and help realize that collage is not just an attempt to piece together fragments of the past, present, and future, but an opportunity to create art from the constituent parts of one’s own life. Creating collages is hardwired to the very human nature, because from memories and dreams, emotions and experiences our memory and personality are being crafted.
