Paintings born of war: an exhibition of works by families of Ukrainian defenders was presented in Mykolaiv «Women. War. Life»

An exhibition of works by family members of Ukrainian military personnel — «Women. War. Life». The exhibition includes 86 paintings in which veterans' relatives rethink their experience of life in war and the deep emotions that accompany daily worries about their loved ones through art.

According to Viktor Moiseiev, director of the Veterans Support Centre, in a commentary for NikVesti, the works presented at the exhibition were created by women who attend the Centre's psychological groups every Saturday. For six months they worked on these paintings, which were first presented at the Centre before deciding to show them to a wider audience.

«For three years now, we have had a group of women at the Centre: mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of veterans of all categories — active military, killed, and captured. They are already like one big family. Every Saturday, the head of the psychological department holds various events with them: this is how they meet on a regular basis. Six months ago, we came up with the idea to try painting. We bought paint, easels and canvases. They slowly started to work on it, and then it got them so excited! For six months, every Saturday was dedicated to this. And they (the women — note) were really looking forward to those Saturdays. When we saw that there were already a lot of works and they were great, we exhibited them for the first time in our institution,» he said.

Each of these works is an internal reflection of women on their own experience of life during the war. Their paintings are an attempt to talk about fear, hope, love and fatigue, but at the same time to find inner support and release emotions in a positive way.

According to Viktor Moiseev, some of the paintings that the women decide to leave at the Veterans Support Centre will later become decorations for its branches and gifts for the Ukrainian military.

— "We immediately offered that all the girls and women who created these works could take them home. And for those who don't want to, we will divide the paintings among the four branches in the city. They will be like gifts, because they are worth it. They will be where they are needed: in a hospital, in a hospital, where our military are. Because they are cool, they are charged with positive energy," added the director of the Centre.

The works can be viewed at «City Centre» during the week of 24 November.

As reported earlier, NikVesti wrote that on Friday, 14 November, a photo project by Kherson photojournalist and soldier Anton Balan «Days of Light» was presented in Mykolaiv region, about the first days of Kherson's liberation from occupation.