Original artwork description:

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

"I am not Hero" is an evocative piece that weaves vulnerability and strength into a single visual narrative. The artwork features a nude female figure seated in repose against a dark, robust horse, a pose that reflects introspection and a quiet sense of peace. The woman's closed eyes and relaxed posture suggest a moment of self-reflection or resignation, perhaps an acknowledgment of her own humanity and the relinquishment of any façade of heroism.

The palette is grounded with earthy tones; warm hues of brown and subtle reds form the horse, creating a solid backdrop that contrasts with the softer, flesh-toned pinks of the woman's skin. The application of paint is both deliberate and gentle, with visible brushstrokes that give texture and movement to the composition, adding a raw, tactile quality that underscores the theme of authenticity.

Surrounding text, inscribed with a free hand, hints at thoughts or dialogue, possibly internal, lending the painting a personal, diary-like aspect. It's as if the canvas is a confessional space where the subject can express her truths without judgment. This piece invites the viewer to consider the multifaceted nature of identity and the courage it takes to embrace one's true self, devoid of titles or accolades.

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:

Oil

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