In Sofia Kyiv, works saved by a feminist LGBT organization are on display

War undermines not only the process of creating works, but also their preservation. Many institutions have to move their collections into storage, and artists have to figure out ways to transport large canvases to relatively safe areas.

Works of the artist from Kherson Yana Golub’yatnikova was taken out of the occupied city by the charity organization “Insha”, which protects the rights of women and the LGBT community. Now these canvases can be seen in the halls of “Bread” of Sofia of Kyiv until April 21.

The cooperation of the LGBT organization with the Christian cathedral seems unlikely, but the “match” did happen, not without the efforts of “Other” and curator Albina Yermakova. UP Culture tells which works of Yana Golubyatnikova can be seen in “Bread”.

The exhibition of paintings by Yana Golubyatnikova is called “Hear to start” – this vector of action is followed by the author, showing her own works. In order to process the trauma and make important decisions for us, it is necessary to create a common space in which everyone will feel comfortable sharing their experiences. Yana’s painting warns: it will hurt, but it will get easier only by taking a step further.

The organizers of the exhibition emphasize this, noting that the wording “to hear to begin” is “an act of offering a joint action”, and each next step in the space “begins after realizing and feeling the previous-past”.

Yana Golubyatnikova paints in the style of realism and hyperrealism, but uses mythical and fairy-tale images for this. They have human faces – so it is easier for the viewer to identify his reality with fairy-tale dimensions. This is an archetypal world with its good and evil, which constantly confront and show their power. Yana was inspired by Ukrainian folklore, Scandinavian mythology, and even fairy tales by Tove Jansson and Hans Christian Andersen.

The exhibition occupies three halls of the “Bread” on the third floor – a number that is also often used in fairy tales. If you move from the far right hall to the left, you can see how a traumatic story turns into reflection and catharsis.

It is the most difficult to be in the first hall, because it, among all, probably tells the most about the struggle not only with the outside world, but also with oneself. Here is the ancient Greek Zephyr, god of the west wind, surrounded by owls and coarse dark cloth. It seems that every breath is difficult for him, but he knows his job. The painting “Moth” depicts three women holding a cloth in their hands and peering into its holes. Is it trying to figure out who you are or self-eating? On canvas, one is impossible without the other.

And here are two twins – Tweedledum and Tweedledee – characters of English children’s poems and books by Lewis Carroll. They defend themselves and fight at the same time, not realizing that they are becoming one person. Next to them are the girls in red clothes in the picture “Oh, sow a poppy…”. Despite the fact that in the text of the folk song the heroines regret their lost young years, under the brush of the Kherson artist they look like warrior women who have turned their inner pain into their own strength.

It is interesting that Yana Golubyatnikova’s characters are almost never depicted in natural environments or real spaces. Usually behind them is a motley ornament, reminiscent of repeating patterns from a deck of cards, a festive tablecloth or vytynanka.

In the second hall there are also images of determined women, in particular in the painting “Valkyries”. The four heroines seem to have powers, they have saddled horses, and their environment is under their control, but they do not know how to use it. In Scandinavian myths, valkyries flew over the pain of battle and picked the bodies of the greatest warriors to carry to the afterlife. The faces of Golubyatnikova’s valkyries are very tired – they probably did not expect so many deaths.

Opposite – “Sirin” – a bird of paradise with a girlish face, also unsure of her own strength. According to some legends, she brings death by enchanting people with her singing, according to others, she warns them of possible danger. The artist dresses Sirin in coral and a wreath, behind her is a cluster of red poppies. She wants to warn about danger in time, but there are so many risks that the birds do not always have time to get the message.

In the continuous flow of fighting against misfortune, we also see detachment in the image of “Morra”. However, the text of the exhibition notes that her loneliness does not necessarily mean complete darkness. It can be a period of transformation, where, having separated from society, a person has a chance to realize what roles he chooses. The picture “Joker” clearly shows this, emphasizing that everyone can be anyone, turning the cards in their hands into aces.

The third hall is about relief and acceptance. Everything that does not happen will be your experience. Here, children act as goddesses, as in the paintings “Themis” and “Moira”. Themis is a light-haired girl who, unlike Sirens and Valkyries, who are burdened by gloomy landscapes, is surrounded by white birds. The Moiras, goddesses who wove fate, also become little girls, showing that youth is a concept far from carefree and frivolous. Childhood and adolescence offer no indulgence from trials, pain, or loss.

In the same hall, good fairy-tale or strange characters appear – Ole Lukoye, a man in sundresses with an umbrella in the picture “In the belly of straw” and a brightly dressed woman from the picture “The Witch”. They will not necessarily be accepted in society, but they will remain themselves.

In confirmation of how strong and possible internal transformations can be, a self-portrait of the artist appears in the last room, where she sits with peacocks and haphazardly scattered pomegranates. Further, your path can move in a circle, a spiral or a straight line, make sharp turns or consistently overcome challenges – everything is possible and connected.

In times of war, fairy tales are more realistic than ever. In this reality, even in the dark, you can clearly see what is black and what is white.