“30 x 20 x 30” is the size of hand luggage and this is the format in which I had to put everything important, including my artwork when leaving Ukraine. Today is a time when I have to adapt to particularly difficult conditions.

I started this series in August 2022 when I visited my father in my hometown Odesa, Ukraine. From my house, it’s a two minute walk to the sea, so Arcadia beach is a special place for me, with which I have been connected since my childhood. It has always been one of the most visited places in the city. This summer, I saw the beach for the first time since the full scale invasion. Now people come to the sea, but they cannot step on the sand because of the mines. The distance which I establish with the paintings is also important in Odesa you cannot see the sea close.

Wild plants now sprout from the sand. For me, these plants are a symbol of Ukrainian strength. They are growing in such difficult conditions only sand and salt water are around. In addition, they state that despite the war they have their own life. This time, I felt a completely new, apocalyptic atmosphere there.

I also noticed the rusty metal structures that have always been part of this seascape. I never thought about what function they performed. But this time, I asked my father. He explained, these are old structures, on which, once, in Soviet times, heavy slates were laid, which created a shadow for beach goers. These structures are ghosts of the Soviet Union, they are only skeletons.

If we decide to “bring them back to life” and placeheavy slates on them, they will break. Here I see an analogy with the imperialist desire of Russia to regain its influence over the former members of the Soviet Union. This is an attempt to restore the old system, to bring back to life what is already dead. The series “20x20x30” embodies for me today’s difficult time of adjustment but at the same time the power to find solutions.