Project “Shelter” – Master’s Degree Project at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (NAFAA), Kyiv, 2021

On life’s path, difficulties are inevitable. You either confront them or hide - postponing the moment of your next encounter.

In seeking to avoid them, people often construct symbolic spaces where they feel safe and unchallenged. These are metaphorical “shelters”.

As we dissolve into such self-made shelters without resolving the tasks before us, we begin to blame objects or subjects associated with that space for our failures - displacing responsibility. The shelter, once a refuge, gradually starts to feel like a constraint.

This is why, within the exhibition space, many objects are fixed in positions that restrict movement. Wooden beams mounted on the walls and the central structure evoke the image of a cage.

In this project, I ask: how can something as precious as family or academia/university come to feel like an obstacle?

I conceived the spatial structure as a metaphor for a “shelter.” For a long time, the systems of the academy and the family served as such shelters for me.

The academic system is represented through the space itself - the academy studio; through academic still-life arrangements sewn together into a single textile cover spanning almost the entire ceiling; and through drawing boards directly linked to the experience of art education.

The family system is represented by the image of an old family yacht - a place where we all gather together. This is a deeply personal symbol for me.  I convey the idea of family through video recordings of real conversations, portraits of my loved ones within the painterly elements of the project, yacht-related details (a sail, ropes), and an audio composition.

The wooden structure integrated into the walls is a direct extension of the shelving systems that students assemble themselves from timber beams and drawing boards in academy studios. At the same time, it recalls the interior of a yacht, with its many wooden components and partitions.

It is important that I imposed these limitations on myself. In order to convey the atmosphere of a self-made “shelter,” I physically built the entire wooden construction myself, integrating it into the studio walls.

The audio component was created by musician Valentyn Panasiuk. He worked with sounds recorded during the yacht’s journey - the sail flapping, the movement of water, people’s conversations.

A pivotal moment of the project is that the day of its presentation marks my departure from two systems:

- from academia, through the defense of my master’s degree;

- from my parental family, through marriage.

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