pre-columbian series (2022)

This series of paintings, monotypes and screenprints was developed for the 2022 joint exhibition Ancestors Calling in London, where the contemporary pieces were displayed directly alongside original Pre-Columbian textiles. The work emerged from research into Pre-Columbian art and the ancient Andean approach to death. Rather than a finality to be feared, death was celebrated as a transition where ancestors transformed into deities, wrapped in elaborately embroidered funerary blankets created through immense communal effort. This ritualistic, community-led textile practice resonated deeply with the traditional folk embroidery of my own Ukrainian heritage.

Visually, the project draws a line between the bold directness of ancient Andean artefacts and the digital aesthetics of the 1980s and 1990s. The geometric, highly stylised motifs found on ceremonial textiles share a distinct visual language with the pixelated graphics of early video games. By embracing this distilled geometry, the artworks translate ancient archetypes through a contemporary lens.