Natasha Brichuk

During the quarantine it seemed to me that time had stopped and me along with it. There is no movement, you are sitting in confined space just waiting for something to happen.

I create mainly graphics and abstract painting under the nickname Notuko. When the quarantine began, me and my partner stayed in Portugal. After the lockdown was announced, we had only three days to return to Ukraine. My boyfriend is also an artist. Before quarantine, we had orders from small businesses, so we almost immediately lost our jobs. Moreover, we had to give up renting a workshop as well as other things. Left without orders, we didn’t even know what would happen tomorrow. We had no choice, but to get used to living in one small room. It has become everything for us all: a home, a workshop and even a gym. Due to lack of space, my boyfriend painted his canvases right on the floor, while I was creating my artworks at the table. It became impossible to tell apart the workspace and the personal space. This caused quarrels and misunderstandings between me and my partner.

Staying at home for too long, I wanted to go out more, to look for something interesting in the city. Unfortunately, my hometown is not quite unique or special, so I had to look for inspiration and look at everything from a different angle. Paying attention to what is around me made me pay more attention to Ukrainian art and culture. I became more interested in Ukrainian artists, such as Maria Prymachenko, Adalbert Erdeli, Andriy Kotska, who inspired me to create new artworks. As a result, a series of graphic works “Ukrainian Women” appeared. I used oil pastel because it is super soft and pigmented. In my works I try to recreate the moment of youth and convey the sensuality, unique character and flair of the Ukrainian woman. Working on images, I omit using any specific forms, because for me the portrait of a person is much deeper and more incomprehensible.

Although being an artist in Ukraine means being in constant doubt and uncertainty, I believe that the path I have chosen is the right one and I am very glad that at this age and due to these circumstances, including quarantine, I began to listen more to myself and realized that I want to continue to pursue art as a career.

From the series “Ukrainian women”, Oil pastel, paper, 2020