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Contemplation of the Daily Life

Application summary

I am applying for a one-year working grant to continue my artistic practice and work on a “Contemplation of the Daily Life” project. The project is dedicated to the art of noticing and the feeling of temporality, connected to the sustainability of the personal and the global, using the eco-feminist lens. It emphasizes the beauty of imperfection and the power of fragility. The project includes artistic research, biomaterial exploration, the creation of artworks, and two exhibitions in contrasting settings: a greenhouse in Kyiv, Ukraine and a “sterile” gallery space in Helsinki, Finland. By creating a dialogue between countries, the project emphasizes the importance of sharing experiences and uniting people in their common commitment to building a sustainable future. The sensory perception of material, texture, and color plays an essential role in my practice. I plan to combine my previous experience with recycled materials, printed techniques and natural inks with 3D scans of bioplastic sculpture, sound, and smell. I go on my expeditions not beyond the world's borders, but deep into everyday life, observing changes that are often overlooked.

“Contemplation of the Daily Life” is a year-long artistic research and exhibition project exploring everyday rituals, sensory perception, and ecological resilience through an eco-feminist lens. The project focused on fragility, impermanence, and healing as sources of strength - both personal and collective - in a time of war and displacement.

During the project, I developed a body of work using bioplastics, plant-dyed textiles, natural pigments, edible materials, sound, and scent. I wove a large-scale tapestry (230x240 cm) titled Memory Wall on a loom that survived the bombing of the Boychuk Academy in Kyiv, using hand-dyed threads from Ukrainian and Finnish plants. This act of weaving under destruction became a central gesture of care and resistance.

The first exhibition, "I Have Been Cooking Up an Experience for Me and You" (Gallery Augusta, HIAP, Sept-Oct 2024), presented multisensory works - from bioplastic stained-glass panels to chocolate stones scented with pine resin - creating an intimate dialogue between Ukrainian biodiversity and the Finnish landscape.

The second exhibition, Dreams in the Bomb Shelter, will take place in autumn 2025 at Garage33 Gallery-Shelter in Kyiv. This part shifts the focus inward - to sleep as a form of psychic resistance. It includes a domestic dreamscape installation and a collaboration with an artist-psychoanalyst based on shared wartime dreams.

The project created a sensitive cross-border exchange between Finland and Ukraine - through materials, gestures, and shared vulnerability - and emphasized the need for slowness, tenderness, and ecological awareness in times of instability.

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