2021  •  24 x 30"  Show size

acrylic paint, wood

Storks. Symbol of new beginnings, renewal, and faithfulness. To me - it’s also a symbol of Ukraine. I grew up in Lviv, Ukraine and spent most of my childhood summers at my grandparent’s house in the small village Dunaiv, two hours from the city. What a contrast it was! A rural scenery of vast green lands, pine forests and river, cutting the village in half. Poppy flowers, among endless fields of wheat, bathing in the sun. Storks were always out in the fields. Distinct, noble, - they’d walk around green patches of grass in search of food. They’d leave every fall to migrate to Africa, and I’d leave the village to come back to my city. They would always return in spring. Faithful, strong and free. We are all birds, always flying around the world in search of a better patch of grass. But we all belong to just one place of heritage, one place we call home.