PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION: UKRAINE’S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AS ENVISIONED BY OLHA BOSAK
Independence Gained Through Blood
The French painter Edgar Degas once said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”OlhaBosak embodies this spirit in her art exhibit “Live Free!”, recently on display in New York, Ottawa, and Toronto. Inspired by the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity and ensuing war with Russia, Bosak strives, through her artwork,to promote Ukraine among UN member states and spread the word about both current developments in Ukraine and the Ukrainian struggle for values that make Europe meaningful.
“The inspiration for this collection of artworks came from Ukraine’s struggle over the [past] three years to shed the country’s Soviet past and return to Ukraine’s European roots,” she told the Ukrainian Echo while in Toronto. The collection’s title, “Live Free!”, was chosen to reflect the hopes and dreams of the people of Ukraine to live free, especially as the country finds itself at war with Russia.
“In my canvases I tried to reflect our ideals, experiences, and achievements. Our freedom [has been] acquired at a high price. Many have lost their lives, and many still will give [up theirs].”
“My artwork is like my diary,”Bosak explained, “I am painting what I experience, what I go through. So if something is disturbing me, I have some questions I am trying to find answers to, sometimes I find it, sometimes I don’t, but I need to put it on a canvas. So [the collection] is what I went through, and it is similar to what people in Ukraine are going through.”
Peace Despite Anxiety
In the piece Life over Cliff, for example, she explains that the splatters of varying shades of red represent “life on the edge; the most difficult moments [when] we were looking for a foothold” during the Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity. “We were waiting for those who would show us solidarity and join our struggle for European values.”
Another piece, entitled Fulcrum, is Bosak’s artistic interpretation of the experience of Ukrainian society as it searches for and establishes foundations during this difficult transition period. “We are not certain what will happen tomorrow,” she explained, “but when I finished this painting, I finally realized that God is someone we can [always] rely on.”
The artist presents her exhibit as a “public diplomacy project,” the goal of which is to further demonstrate to the global community the importance of the 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity for Ukraine and how this revolution and ensuing Russian invasion continues to shape and inform public opinion in Ukraine, including the desire to live free as an independent nation and society.
In October the “Live Free!” exhibit was on display at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where Bosak was able to promote her message and image of a new Ukraine to the community of UN diplomats as well as visitors to the UN General Assembly building.
Life Over Cliff
“It was a very warm reception,” said Bosak of her time there. “There were Ukrainians, non-Ukrainians, representatives of different [diplomatic] missions, and more than 10 ambassadors from countries such as the Netherlands, Australia, and Morocco. They were asking what is happening in Ukraine and expressing interest and sympathy towards the Ukrainian cause.”
In her remarks at the “Live Free!” opening reception in New York, Bosak used the opportunity to highlight developments in Ukraine, especially emphasizing the situation with Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia. “That’s something that I really worry about, because there are hundreds of people [in captivity], and we don’t know how they are doing,” she said.
When she is not engrossed her artwork, Bosak is busy running her management consulting company and the Ukrainian Freedom Fund, a non-profit organizationthat she co-founded. She describes herself as an entrepreneur, civic activist, and artist, noting, with a smile, that “painting is [her] professional hobby.” Her love for beauty and art she attributes to her father, who contributed to the development and realization of Bosak’s artistic career and for whom she painted her first oil painting when she was 26.
Fulcrum
“Live Free!” touches on different motifs of the Revolution of Dignity and the ensuing struggles Ukraine and its people have endured over the past three years. A central theme of the exhibit is the “washing away” of Soviet values, mentality, and expectations.
“Ukraine is one of the oldest European countries,”Bosak explains, “After we joined the Soviet Union we became part of some other bloc and were presented to the world as a Soviet people, a different civilization. The majority of those [post-Soviet] countries have nothing to do with Europe, but we were presented all together and forced to follow different rules and norms, and now what we are doing is coming back to our regional roots.”
Both Near & Far
“Many years were spent to ensure Ukraine will come back to its pre-Soviet mentality, and currently one may observe that European values inherent to our land are being practiced again,” she continued. “In my canvases I tried to reflect [these] ideals, experiences, and achievements.”
One of the most iconic works of the “Live Free!” exhibit, Peace Despite Anxiety, perhaps best summarizes the Ukrainian spirit during these trying times. The blue-teal backdrop is contrasted with a rusted-orange coloured spiral which cuts through the canvas, representing the uncertainty and angst of life. “When something is disturbing us, like war, we can allow those external obstacles to enter into our inner world, or we can stay very calm, keep harmony, and still be joyful, happy, and really value the life we still have,” explained Bosak of her work.
Touch of Eternity
Launched in January 2016, the “Live Free!” public diplomacy project is continuing to gain popularity amongst audiences throughout the world. “I was invited to display the exhibit in Geneva at the United Nations, and there is also interest coming from London,” shared Bosak. Ukrainians, too, will have additional opportunities to see the exhibit as it scheduled to be on display in Kyiv at America House as well as at the Intercontinental Hotel.
