Sholokh Dara

As I grew older, I realized that losing my home in 2014 affected me more than I had thought. Now I am trying to find answers to endless questions: what is a home, what can be my home? Exploring the concept of home becomes a pressing need, as does the desire to preserve memories of it. By recreating these memories in my works, I immerse the viewer in the issues of prolonged occupation and childhood displacement, sharing my own story. My artistic practice becomes a way to adapt to the present while also not forgetting the problems that trouble society and me personally (Dara Sholokh).

In the work “Memories Carry Me to Donbas,” the author speaks about the personal loss of home through childhood memories that no longer seem as vivid as they once were. The piece gathers many memories into one image: the trees visible from the car window on the way to the sea, the slag heaps from the grandmother’s apartment window, the fields of Donetsk, and the roses that fill peaceful Donetsk. The overall atmosphere is dark, aiming to convey the understanding that the past is no more, and reality has become harsh.