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Reva Masha
The grotesque yet ironic narrative of the monumental work Dream of Falling into a Pink Abyss is a candid, personal reflection on the fragile process of discovering one’s own sexuality and reaching a state of ultimate pleasure — an exploration of bodily awareness and acceptance despite the traumatic experience of sexual violence I endured in childhood.
The theme of violence, in the context of the full-scale invasion during which this work was created, is a familiar one to everyone. All those affected by war are, to some degree, traumatized; yet many continue to ignore this condition, often without realizing its depth. Remaining within the illusion of “normality” makes it easier to endure the pressure and simply continue to function.
The same is true for survivors of sexual violence — this experience never disappears; it transforms and, when met with new forms of pressure, can erupt again.
For many years, I lived within a prolonged trauma, while simultaneously immersed in the collective trauma of the present. Yet my works did not reflect the full spectrum of pain that was truly etched inside me. On the contrary, I believed that art should be an instrument of empowerment. Since early childhood, I understood that the world could wound me — and that the act of creation was both my medicine and a tool for reclaiming confidence.
By drawing thousands of studies of the human body, I sought first and foremost to learn to love my own — every imperfection and every line I had studied in others. I tried to love flaws in order to accept mine. The body, which stands at the center of this composition, is the most essential instrument each of us possesses: it can serve both as a limitation and as a key to infinite self-awareness.
The pain we carry may seem a terrifying path for self-examination, yet only by facing it directly can we come to understand our depth, truly know ourselves, and ultimately overcome fear.
And what could be more defiant than laughing in the face of that fear — manifesting the state of ultimate pleasure, life energy, and confidence, no matter how difficult that laughter might be to achieve.
Born in 1987 in Odesa, Ukraine. Lives and works in Kyiv.
Masha Reva is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and illustrator whose practice spans contemporary art, fashion, scenography, and socially engaged visual storytelling. Her work exists at the intersection of the personal and political, weaving together themes of memory, identity, intimacy, and the body within visual narratives that are both poetic and socially resonant.
She studied fashion design at the Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design and later at Central Saint Martins in London. There, she developed her distinct language, combining the aesthetics of fashion and form with drawing, spatial thinking, and personal symbolism. Upon returning to Ukraine, Reva expanded her practice into installations, illustration, and public art — often collaborating with international fashion houses, cultural institutions, and humanitarian initiatives.
Her creative collaborations include projects with Jacquemus, Rachel Comey, SNDCT, and the Rijksmuseum, among others. During the full-scale war in Ukraine, Reva turned to urgent, community-centered art. Her series “Open Sky”, commissioned by TBA21 and created together with Ivan Grabko, reflects the fragility of memory through delicate, layered drawings infused with personal and collective trauma. She also created a public installation in Kyiv composed of children’s drawings from across Ukraine — as a testament to resilience, witness, and emotional survival.
Reva’s work bridges illustration and activism, care and vulnerability. Her visual language captures the tension between the sacred and the everyday, between softness and rupture. With every project, she invites viewers to engage with intimacy not as a retreat from the world, but as a way of transforming it.
