This interview was conducted in February of 2023, a year into the invasion of Ukraine by russia. Alyona stayed in Kyiv all this time. Art House SF was organizing a fundraiser for Ukraine, so some of the questions touched upon that.
In May 2024, Max Khusid from Art House SF traveled to Ukraine and met Alyona in person in Kyiv.
1) How do you feel about your artwork being used for a fundraiser to aid Ukrainians during the war?
I strongly support the idea of raising funds to help Ukraine. If I manage to raise any amount for these purposes, I will consider it my main creative achievement of the year.
I am absolutely inside this war and completely immersed in it: I hear the air raid sirens, the sounds of downed cruise missiles and drones, and in my neighborhood there are hits on residential buildings and infrastructure.
It is difficult to find words to precisely convey what it is like to live in a country that has been trying with all its might for a year now to defend its right to national identity, to freedom, to the future ... It’s difficult, it’s very difficult!
But Ukraine is holding on, and we are very grateful for the support of the American people and the entire civilized world.
2) Being based in Kyiv, how has the conflict affected your work?
This is a full-scale war, and not a local conflict. Unfortunately, Ukraine has a 1,500-km
long front, daily shelling and bombing, daily deaths of soldiers, civilians, children, and the elderly, the destruction of houses, schools, hospitals, theaters, museums, power plants , railway stations.
It is impossible to get used to such things, it is impossible to forgive, and it is impossible to live and work in this as before.
This war changed everything in my life: At first, I couldn’t work at all, and later I was ready to draw bullets – just to help the army somehow. Over time, I came to understand that I can continue to do my job – and bring victory closer with monetary donations to military and volunteer organizations. This is how all conscious Ukrainians live now.
3) What message as an artist do you want your work to convey, particularly to an international audience?
I always thought that I have cute, cheerful, decorative works that should bring joy, harmony, and positivity to people’s homes. But now they have a dual task: They are raising money for the Ukrainian victory, and perhaps they will save someone’s life, even one life – it would be enough!
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