Cossack and sunflowers from Donbas
Internally displaced person from Luhansk region paints houses in Zdolbuniv, where she now lives. The neighbors are happy
Yana Unychenko, artist, came to Zdolbuniv at the end of July. By that time military action had begun to unfold in her homeland near Luhansk. She chose Zdolbuniv in Rivne region because her friend lived here – and also because she had always wanted to live in western Ukraine.
“I travel frequently; I know Ukraine and have always loved her,” Yana says. “After visiting western Ukraine for the first time I had always wanted to move here. The environment here is better; and in terms of culture and mentality I feel closer to the people who live in these places – you can sense the spirit of Ukraine in them. They preserved the national traditions. I went to visit some friends on Christmas, and I was very surprised to see so many carolers come and sing for so long. Where I’m from, it is not so common. Even if any people come, the carols they sing are only few lines long, you won’t hear such beautiful songs there. The songs you sing come from the heart, and it gives me goosebumps.”
Viktor Chumak, head of the condominium in which Unychenko rents a dwelling, came up with the idea of house decoration. “For a while I’ve been thinking about painting the entrances and stairwells and I’ve been searching for an artist to do this. Nevertheless, whomever people recommended to me, I didn’t find anyone suitable for this role. But when I got acquainted with Yana and saw her pictures, I understood that she is capable of expressing the warmth and optimism I needed. We chose to have some small scale illustrations here and there, because we didn’t want to have everything painted – it wouldn’t be as much as interesting. Sometimes people come by themselves and tell us, which painting they want nearby. Just recently a guy from the third block came and asked to paint a Cossack.”
The first Yana’s attempts in house decoration were made in her hometown near Luhansk, but the people’s reaction was quite unexpected then. “In the village where my parents live I wanted to decorate fences with Petrykivka painting, and already painted my and my neighbor’s gates. But the people reacted very strangely. At first they thought that the paintings were glued, as they scratched and wanted to peel it off. Only later they actually believed that one can draw such a painting.”
Now Yana has already decorated six blocks in her house, as well as a cafe on the outskirts of the city. The next step – the houses nearby, tenants of which have long asked the girl to paint at least a sunflower for them. Yana plans to go beyond decorations and open a workshop in Zdolbuniv to teach adults how to paint.
“I am often told by adults that they wanted to learn painting in their childhood but their parents did not support it, and how they want to start learning again. My philosophy is simple: a person can do anything, if they really want it. One does not need to be a great artist to paint, the only important thing is to employ one’s creative skills. You can draw a masterpiece in terms of technique, but if the emotions you contribute to it are negative, the painting could only turn off. That’s why I start drawing only when I’m in a good mood,” smiles Unychenko.
Recently, she decorated a container, which was delivered to the soldiers of ATO.
