Original artwork description:

ABOUT THE ARTWORK
The painting "For the first time I see myself so clearly" from the “Inner Garden Series” reveals the profound process of self-identification, where a person gains the ability to see their essence without the distortions imposed by the outside world. It is a story of inner awakening, speaking to the encounter with oneself and the acceptance of one’s unique nature.
The meaning of the painting centers on embracing one’s complexity and multifaceted identity. The figure depicted no longer tries to fit into external frameworks but understands that their true beauty lies in the unique combination of elements that once seemed incompatible or undesirable. There is no longer room for shame about their otherness or fear of judgment—only a pure understanding of their value.
This work also touches on the theme of interaction with the surrounding world. It encourages letting go of the perspective imposed by others and looking at oneself with honesty and respect. It is not just a moment of clarity but a pivotal turning point where the individual begins to see themselves in harmony with their environment, without being consumed by it.
The painting conveys a message about the beauty of inner freedom and the strength that comes from embracing all aspects of oneself—both light and dark, strong and vulnerable. It is a profound story of how we can find ourselves when we allow ourselves to see our truth without fear.
Inner Garden Series

Daria explores the possibility of self-identification of a person from fragments of cultures and concepts, her works actualize the thirst for the integrity of the individual in the ever-changing cycle of ideas and meanings. The artist asks about the possibility of being an integral person in the metamodern era, characterized by oscillation between polar concepts and rethinking of fundamental ideas of the past. Her work is an inner response to the question of what integrality is and whether there is a need to strive for certain ideals.

Her work is also an external response to the totalitarian concepts that still exist in society. Concepts that are imposed from above require a false integrity, namely a certain ideology, and persecute everything that goes beyond these concepts. Born at the crossroads of Ukrainian and Russian cultures during the collapse of the Soviet Union, Daria manifests the norm of fragmentation as the norm, replacing the demands of integrity with the idea of accepting otherness as unconditional beauty. Her characters build their own world in which culture has not become a dictatorship - the world that Daria considers her home.

Here is what Daria herself says about her works

I draw hybrid creatures and symbols of an anthropomorphic world because I feel like a hybrid of cultures and identities. I desire wholeness, I love to see it in others, but I feel fragmented in myself. My paintings are my way of coming to terms with my own fragmented identity, and my way of showing that the beautiful does not always have to fit into an already existing framework.

Materials used:

Acrylic

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