When russia announced the war in Ukraine, I was back in my hometown Rivne. There I started to weave camouflage nets for soldiers as a volunteer. This practice became the basis for the recent artwork with the net I did during the war. The camouflage net is made by women, men and children together and isn't only an object of protection, but also the concentrated energy of faith in our victory.

From Ukraine, I travelled to Bulgaria to continue my work as an artist. There I created a new performance, which was my reaction to the war. I Will Close The Sky So You Could Breathe was developed as part of the Radar Sofia residency, Distance and Resistance program. I performed at Brotherly Mound Monument in Sofia, in June 2022.

I envisioned this piece as an act of unity, inviting people to join, and together we create a symbol for the protection of the Ukrainian sky. "The artist is lying on the ground, the net stretched over her naked body. She asks the audience to 'cover the sky' – this is what Ukrainians ask for, to have protection from Russian missiles falling from the sky. Together, the participants weave a camouflage net over the artist's body to metaphorically protect her. This collective action shows that peace can be achieved if only humanity unites."
However, no one came to support me, so I decided to perform anyway.
Perhaps it reflects the situation in Ukraine and the world even more...

Sofia, Bulgaria, 2022
video: Ivan Nikolov, Svetlin Marinov
editing: Ivan Nikonov, Daria Pugachova
sound: Andryi Bilanenko