CULTURA Print

Original work from "Cultura" series, done with acrylic linocut printing. The Latin word "cultura" originally meant "cultivation," namely the care for the land in an agricultural sense. With time, the meaning of the term gradually shifted towards the connotation of intellectual "processing" of the spiritual realm and the world of ideas. Culture owes its rapid progress to the development of agriculture and to fertile soils that allowed for spare time and energy to maintain this progress. In return, the culture enriched the land with its fruits, turning it into a cultural layer. In the Сultura series, paper epitomizes the earth that preserves and provides opportunities for self-identification based on the artifacts of material culture, which are sealed between two layers of hand-cast paper. The artifacts were collected during agricultural work on the land that the artist had inherited. These hidden objects are dominated by 19th-20th Century pieces of pottery scattered around the village, nails from wrecked buildings, and other small elements of everyday life. The paper sheets are covered with images of plants, weeds to be precise, that serve as an embodiment of daily life, where each one decides to take an active or passive role in organizing their own system of being. The world is shaped by a constant alternation between creation and destruction, and the remnants of this battle serve as a foundation for future development. Ukrainian culture has been systematically trampled into the ground for hundreds of years, enriching the soil. Henceforth, is there enough fertilizer in the ground to cultivate one's own being?