The Garden

Each piece in this series represents a memory of a flower that my mother and grandmother grew in their gardens. In Belarus, flowers were a luxury—most people preferred to grow food—but in my family, flowers were always abundant and shaped my love for nature and beauty.

My memories often emerge like bright, vivid spots in an otherwise expansive void, appearing when least expected and vanishing just as quickly when I attempt to hold onto them. These fleeting recollections serve as the perfect subject for my artistic practice—abstract, vibrant, and undefined, flowing into one another without sharp boundaries. When I recall them, I relive the emotions, much like I do with the color codes I use in my paintings.

As an immigrant, I no longer have the garden of my childhood. I cannot return to the place where I grew up, nor visit my mother. The loss of these physical roots is one of the most painful aspects of my life as a political exile. Flowers—fragile and fleeting—have become my connection to a homeland I can no longer touch. They represent my family, my childhood, and the place I once called home. In their beauty, I find both comfort in memory and sorrow in the impossibility of returning.

This series is my attempt to grow my own garden—one I can finally plant without soil and share with those around me.

Berlin 2025 - 2026