The project explores the inner freedom of a person and life in prison as
a microcosm with its own rules and laws, a demo version of life before
re-entering the real world.
Project History
In 2020, I was arrested under Article 260 of the Georgian Criminal Code:
"Illegal manufacture, purchase, storage, transportation, or sale of narcotic substances.
" I was sentenced to four years in prison. However, on April 9, 2022,
the President of Georgia issued a pardon for Ukrainian citizens. As one of them,
I was released and immediately took on a new pseudonym, Svoboda (Freedom).
While in prison, I spent much of my time drawing and working on the series
"9 Commandments of Freedom."
Drawing became my escape, my salvation, and my path. For two years,
I remained in the same place. The longer I was away from home,
the deeper my love for my native country grew. So when I drew,
I knew where I was going and why I was doing it.
On February 25, 2022, my exhibition was supposed to take place in Kyiv.
The works for this exhibition were created while I was imprisoned in Georgia.
Despite the risk of punishment, I managed, with the help of my fellow inmates,
to send them to my friends back home in Ukraine.
February 25 is my birthday. It was my second birthday in captivity.
Thanks to the support of the Ukrainian youth cultural movement,
all of Kyiv knew about the exhibition and was waiting for it.
On the morning of February 24, the war broke out. Needless to say,
the exhibition was canceled. We were just one day too late...
The exhibition organizers had to flee from the war, and they eventually made it to Berlin.
Instead of another suitcase of clothes, they took this collection of works.
At the moment I stopped believing in miracles, a miracle happened — I was released from prison.
Immediately after my release, I went to Berlin to join my friends.
We tried to organize the exhibition again. This time, it succeeded.
Charity
This exhibition raised $1,400 from the sale of paintings, books, and posters.
$1,000 was sent to a shelter for displaced people, "Dobro na Amuri," in Dnipro.
Another $400 went to siblings whose parents died during the war.
Their only remaining relative is their aunt, whose house was severely damaged
and uninhabitable.
I understand what it’s like to grow up without parents.
Nothing can heal the wounds in these children's hearts, but every contribution,
every step to support each other during these terrible times, is important.
