Garden

This work is part of the series (Grandma's) Garden, inspired by memories of my childhood in Central Ukraine. Although the title refers to a garden, the series explores imagined floral landscapes that exist between memory and imagination. This piece is based on a family photograph of my grandmother, my brother, and me standing in a field of poppies in 2000.

Later that year, my brother and I immigrated to Canada. In the painting, only my grandmother remains, her face dissolving into the landscape as she becomes both memory and place. Through layered imagery and digital glitches, I reflect on how war reshapes our relationship to home, heritage, and belonging. The work speaks to personal grief, cultural memory, and the uncertainty of ever returning to the places that shape our identity.