The Ukrainian-born Inner West artist raising funds for war victims

By SWAGATALAKSHMI ROYCHOWDURY

A Ukrainian-born artist from the Inner West is donating her work to a campaign hoping to raise $5 million for Ukrainian refugees. 

Thirty-nine-year-old Natalia Vyaz has created a large-scale artwork called ‘The Horn of Plenty’ that will be sold as part of a global online auction and non-fungible token (NFT) program to support victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine next month. Vyaz is working alongside three other Ukrainian artists Elena Levkovskaya, Tetiana Koldunenko, and Alena Vigovska to launch a global auction of their artworks to raise money for war refugees. 

The Horn of Plenty uses shades of blue and yellow for Ukraine

“The Horn of Plenty was painted using an ancient painting style called ‘samchykivka’. I combined this technique with a modern approach,” Vyaz told City Hub. “Samchykivka paintings are based on floral ornaments with leaves, berries, nuts. This style is marked by contrast in colours.” 

“In my culture, Horn of Plenty stands as a symbol of peace, prosperity, and happiness. I painted this for my family and for all of Ukraine,” she said, adding that she used shades of blue and yellow to represent the colours of the Ukrainian flag. 

Vyaz, born in Poltava in central Ukraine, was always drawn to art. She studied at the Poltava Children’s Art School and graduated from the National University of Poltava Polytechnic. She worked as an economist for several years before eventually returning to painting.

“I took part in many exhibitions, fairs, art events and solo exhibitions,” Vyaz, said, who also ran an art studio for children and adults in Poltava before coming to Australia three years ago. 

Previously, she participated in two Australian exhibitions. One called ‘Test of Ukraine’ was held at a Ukrainian Church in Canberra to represent Vyaz’s culture, nationality, and customs. 

“I painted still-life pictures of Ukrainian bread,” she said, explaining that the different kinds of bread in varying regions help celebrate events across the year. 

‘There are no safe places in Poltava to live in’: Vyaz 

Vyaz recounted the war horrors her family has been enduring for years. They still live in Poltava, which was one of the cities struck by Russian missiles in early April that not only caused damage to Ukrainian infrastructure but also to residential buildings. 

“The city had a couple of missile strikes and there are absolutely no safe places to live in,” she said. Despite living in constant danger, her family refused to leave Ukraine, saying that it is “their land” and they will continue living there. 

“My son Dmytro lived in Ukraine. Three days ago, Dmytro crossed the Ukrainian border to come to Australia to live with me,” said Vyaz, whose family are still living in Ukraine. “I am so happy that he is safe and healthy.” 

“We have more than twenty million refugees in Ukraine now. More than four million people crossed the country and a million lost their homes to the war.

“Not a lot of people know that this war started eight years ago. Russia annexed Crimea and Donbas and started war on the east of Ukraine,” she said. Over 14,000 people, including civilians and military on both sides, died in Donbas. 

Vyaz shared heartbreaking stories of the injuries, death, and the constant fear and torment the war caused her. 

“My sister-in-law lived in Kyiv with her family, including a seven-year-old daughter, when the bombing started. They fled to Poland and my husband Andrii provided financial support to help them out,” she said. 

Andrii’s oldest daughter fled to the west of Ukraine with her family from the small suburb where she resided close to Kyiv. Her family, which included three young children, lost their home and Andrii tried to support them. 

Previously, Vyaz worked with her husband in Ukraine to raise funds for war refugees. She hosted exhibitions to raise money and help out injured people as well as the Ukrainian army. 

“I would like to organise exhibitions with my colleagues to mark a Ukrainian victory,” she said if the war were to end. “I would love to go to Ukraine and see my family.” 

‘We need to save lives’ in Ukraine 

“When the war started, I couldn’t believe that it has happened. My auntie Raisa, she was living on the fourth floor of the apartment block. She couldn’t go to a bomb shelter because of her knee problem and asthma. She was just sitting there for 10 days and thinking, ‘is it coming to me or to my neighbours’,” Tetiana Koldunenko, a fellow Ukrainian artist taking part in the auction, told the ABC. 

“When I see all these people who want to leave, and I really feel that they do need to leave they need, we need to save these lives in any possible way.”

The campaign includes a global online auction of the original artworks on May 5 as well as the sale of the NFTs of each of the four artworks featured on the campaign’s website.