BIO

A contemporary artist, Rina graduated in industrial design at KSADA (2012-2018). In 2023, she joined the “Di(ya)ty”art and theatre studio as a teacher. She has also participated in the 2023 Art Solidarity Event at Roter Keil, “Argonaut” in the Czech Republic, the Sam Sobi Fest (SSF) in 2022, “Broadway Market” in London (2020) and the “Unbreakable” project at the Mom Art Space gallery in Hamburg (2022).

Story of experience of risk, relocation and/or exile

Artist’s account: On the first day of the war, a shell hit the military academy opposite the building where I lived in Kharkiv, shattering the windows and causing further damage to the apartment due to constant bombardments. Currently, it is uninhabitable. During one of the fires there, I lost all my belongings, including the equipment that allowed me to work. My health suffered as a result of the bombardment, I damaged my eardrums near my shelter. I also lost work due to the inability to transport a large quantity of artworks abroad (I was involved in producing abstract interior paintings). At the moment, I have no stable income, and it is difficult for me to support myself and my family after losing my home.

Projects created during the residency period

Rina: As part of the residency, I plan to make an exhibition about escapism and dreams. Everyone’s escape from reality is expressed differently. In this case, I’ll be looking at escape from reality through dreams and fantasy, that state when you don’t want to lift your head from the pillow. Endless wandering through information channels, disturbed sleep and immersion in the world of fantasy occur due to the fear of losing control over a situation. Avoiding the horrors of reality is a way to help recharge and relax. In order to escape less into the fictional world, you need to have fun in the real world and capture moments. For the exhibition, the space will be made like a room with a bed in the middle, on which visitors can lie down or sit and look at 3 large canvases about dreams and decorations made of polystyrene foam hung around the space. The room will have shelves on which cans with clouds inside (preserved memories) will be installed.

The residency was a happy time in my life. I went to the workshop in the premises of the city’s municipal gallery every day and made large oil paintings. It is very important for an artist to be able to work comfortably. In everyday life, I do not have the opportunity to rent a workshop, so I was able to produce all the creative ideas that I could not even dream of before.

This programme is organized by Perpetuum Mobile (PM) as part of the Artists at Risk (AR)-Network in partnership with UNESCO and with the support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Teiger Foundation.