Plyve Kacha
Analog video / 4:3 / 04:16 / 2023

In collaboration with David Glads (TRUFFIKSS) (Ukraine) and Matthew O’Toole (The UK / Ireland)

According to ancient beliefs, the duck is a bird that connects the world of the dead with the world of the living, is a guide to the afterlife, and often represents the soul of the deceased. "A Duckling Floats" became a project in which I was able to combine Ukrainian folk symbolism and an ode to the lyrical beauty of the Azov Sea in the winter of 2021, a year before a full-scale invasion.

I was born in Donetsk and my feelings of nostalgia for home and the impossibility of returning there significantly increased after the tragic events in Mariupol in February 2022.

I was lucky to meet David Glads (TRUFFIKSS), a talented young artist, singer, and musician, born and raised in Mariupol. He was able to authentically and sincerely perform the song "Plyve Kacha" ("A Duckling Floats"), which has become almost a national requiem since the revolution of 2014 in Ukraine.

This project emphasizes the desperation of the struggle, which has become an integral part of our history, and the depth of meanings for which this struggle takes place. Human life is of indisputable value, and anyone who dies in war will forever have the respect and gratitude of those who stayed alive to rebuild our country.

Video editing: Matthew O’Toole (The UK / Ireland)

The project was presented at the Open Studios within HIAP art residence in Helsinki, Finland