KYIV

As the war rages in Ukraine, I think of my family and loved ones, and of my Fulbright year there, 2018-2019, a year of hardship, depression, perspective and personal growth that irrevocably changed the trajectory of my life and artistic practice, forever fusing me with the land of my birth. My work has always had roots in Ukrainian culture, but that year cemented my work as part of that culture and that culture as part of me.

Now, Russian missiles rain down on Kyiv, and I speak to my people about the constant wail of sirens and the thunder of nearby explosions, taking refuge in garage basements and hallways and undisclosed locations.

I feel helpless.

I feel how I felt then, wanting to come home to New York, but now, wanting to come home to Kyiv.

This body of work is from my year in Ukraine and the years after, punctuated by a global pandemic and uncertainty, and, also, deep love and the birth of my daughter.

Years before the war, a war that was already brewing then.