“The Carpet is Saved – I’m Jealous” 77x84cm. 2022

paper, gouache, pastel, charcoal, pencils

This piece is especially meaningful to me — it marks the beginning of my journey in documenting Ukraine’s Defenders.

The artwork portrays a soldier from the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is calm, focused, fully equipped — a portrait of the modern Ukrainian warrior fighting for a brighter future.

Behind him hangs a Soviet-era carpet, a remnant of the past. It represents everything outdated and oppressive — dictatorship, fear, control.
In contrast, the soldier embodies everything Ukraine is becoming — modern, free, fearless.

This visual tension between the old background and the new soldier reflects Ukraine’s current reality:
we are no longer part of that world — and we are never going back.