Echoes from Ukraine

Daryna is a designer from Ukraine currently studying at the Penninghen School of Art Direction, Interior Design and Communication in Paris. She has agreed to be the first to share her personal and artistic journey on this blog dedicated to the resilience of the Ukrainian people. The full scale war launched by Russia in February 2022 has been going on for more than 2 years now…

Daryna Antonenko, 2023

Привіт Дарина and thank you so much for accepting to be my first guest here. Can you tell us a bit about yourself ? Where are you from ? What are your main occupations ?

I am 23 years old and I come from a town in the Kyiv region called Obukhiv. I am currently pursuing a master degree in Art Direction at Penninghen. I have also just started an internship in LeLAD architecture studio.

I believe it has been approximately one year since you relocated to Paris. I can imagine it was quite a challenge for you to leave Ukraine and move here ?

You know, let’s put it that way, it was rather a solution than a challenge. Moving to France was not my first experience abroad because I had already studied in both Warsaw, Poland and Tournai, Belgium. But to be honest, taking the decision was not easy at all. I went back to Ukraine in October 2022, spent 2 months there and finally decided to come. I had nothing to lose. 

What about your family ? Are they in Ukraine at the moment ? 

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, my family has been scattered all across Europe. I am in France while my sister is in Kyiv, my mum in the Netherlands and my dad between Poland and Italy. My mum is considering coming back to Ukraine now. She wants to support my sister who has to raise her young kid between two explosions. It hurts me so much to think about how she spends sleepless nights hiding in the bathroom while having to take care of her little baby the next day. I am glad to know that they’ll be together again but shit, that’s going to be one more dear person to worry about.

Tell us, how was it to grow up in Ukraine at the beginning of the 2000’s ? 

I’ve been brought up in an apartment block on the outskirts of Kyiv. I remember it was very peaceful and quiet. I loved the spring season because you could hear birds singing in the morning. It was rather safe, everyone knew each other and with my sister we could play alone in the little park in front of our apartment. But my mum or my grandparents were never far, watching us from the kitchen’s window. 

On the other hand it was also very isolated. We rarely went to Kyiv, even if it was located only 40 kms away from us. I knew how beautiful the capital was but I never got to really experience the daily city life and the variety of opportunities it had to offer. That’s why I became extremely curious to explore the world. 

What were the arts, movies, songs that really influenced your childhood ? 

I am a bit embarrassed [laughters]. Do you know the band VIA GRA? They were the Ukrainian version of the Spice Girls. Their songs were super sexist, but back then I did not notice and everyone thought the composer was super talented.

I would often hear Lama, Gaitana, Tina Karol on the radio. Then I grew older and stopped listening to Ukrainian artists because I thought it was “not cool”, I would associate them with the weird songs without artistic values that we were forced to sing at school. I was instead rather enjoying western pop stars singing in English or in French such as Katy Perry or Adele. But today I have rediscovered old songs by Skryabin, Boombox or Okean Elzy. Frankly, it is only now that I understand their power and values. Or maybe, I am being nostalgic.

That’s interesting. Did you feel, as a child, that you belonged to the Ukrainian cultural world ? 

Not really. We were living under a corrupted pro-Russian president and I had a wrong understanding of my culture. Honestly, I wanted to leave. Everything has changed now for sure. 

[While being interviewed, Daryna is actively sketching on her copybook]

Daryna, I see you are drawing right now. It reminds me of one of our first meetings. Do you remember ? It was at the Caféothèque in Paris and you could not stop drawing the people around us. Were you born with a pencil in your hand ?

Ahah, yes ! I was not even 2 years old when I drew the first portrait of my family. It was rather silhouettes, but you could actually recognise everyone. I spent my entire childhood sketching and I quickly joined the junior art school of my hometown. People were always telling me that I would one day become an artist. Except that no one really explained to me that it is not always easy to make a living out of it. So I tried graphic design and eventually I switched to artistic direction. 

Drawing by Daryna, March 2023

Tell me a little bit more about your time here in France. First, why did you choose Paris in the first place ?

It’s ridiculous because I had never dreamt of coming here. I remember that the first time I visited the city in 2019, I really disliked it because of the big social inequalities that I noticed. I came back again for a few days in May 2022 and I met the local Ukrainian community, went through the art foundations and fashion museums. I felt like people living here shared the same values as I do. A few months later I found the courage to buy a one-way ticket. I was fortunate to quickly find a place to live, a university to study and supportive people.

Are you in touch with the Ukrainian diaspora in town ?

Here, I like meeting with representatives of the community who maintain a strong sense of duty towards promoting Ukraine’s image internationally and seeking justice. A lot of the people I cross paths with are often descendants of those who fled during the World Wars. Those families were really less affected by the Soviet influence and the language repression. So they speak a really pure Ukrainian, they are unfamiliar with the russian language. To me they are really true Ukrainians.

How do you get along with French students ? 

They are obviously welcoming but it is hard to find a common language with people who experienced a whole different life than I did. 

And how do you talk with them about the war ? 

I barely do it with words but rather through my work. I am very discreet and sometimes I don’t have the courage to jump into a conversation and say « there was another shelling last night, you probably saw it in my Instagram stories so don’t you want to ask me how my sister is going ? ».

There was a moment during a team project where I had to speak out. We were visiting the atelier of a shoe designer. The lady was talking about the delivery delays caused by the « situation » in Ukraine. She used the word « situation » six times. In my head, I was exploding : « what do you think is happening in Ukraine ?? ». I told them that this is an invasion by russia on an independent sovereign country. I insisted that it is important to use the right vocabulary and eventually they understood my point and changed their way of talking.

What about your art ? How has it evolved since the beginning of the full-scale war ? 

My tastes have changed and my artworks have progressively become more minimalistic. Red is the only color I use now. I don’t need any other. There’s already a lot of energy in it : passion, love, warmth but also anger. I also leave a lot of blank spaces. It evokes the feeling of uncertainty.

One day I was asked by a teacher to create a poster about the human impact on the environment. Almost all the students draw some kind of philosophical concepts that I barely understood to be honest [smile]. For my part, I made a drawing of green grass with pieces of missiles scattered all around. You could not tell that those grey fragments were rockets. It was a bit abstract but it was my way of shouting to the world  « there is a war going on ».  I just can’t talk about it directly. This is who I am. Voilà.

Has the way you dress also changed ? 

Yes, but this has more to do with the fact I now live in Paris [smile]. I wear mostly navy blue, love white and only sometimes put a colourful but monotone t-shirt. 

You are also a photographer. 

Yes, I enjoy putting my life on stage. 

[You always see Daryna with an analog camera in her hands]

But why not use a digital camera like everyone else ? 

I use an analog camera because I have never really understood how to use a digital one [laughters]. I simply adore its effect and love that it gives you the opportunity to make prints that you can later hold in your hands. And of course, you can sketch on your prints later on.

What are your aspirations as an artist ? 

To be recognised by other professionals. Indeed, hearing from my mom that my work is great is sweet [smile]. But that’s not enough to provide for myself. I would also love to create something beautiful, calming and educating with a positive impact on society. And of course to diffuse a positive impression about Ukraine and our nation. 

Since you have such an artistic background, do you attend the numerous exhibitions organised by your compatriots in exile here ?

Yes, I know a few artists. I actually met my first group of friends in Paris while attending an event called Tripolar in 2022. It was a showcase of Ukrainian art and fashion brands. 

Who is your favourite Ukrainian writer ? 

I was a fan of Tarash Shevchenko in school (both his poems and artworks). Later discovered Parisian stories by Irena Karpa. There is also a poem by Lina Kostenko called Перехожий (a pedestrian). It is about a man who is not well understood by others but loves life and is inspired by every aspect of it. 

Thank you so much Daryna. Дякую!