UKRAINE-SKETCHES: Oksana Stratiychuk is an artist from Kiev about the civic consciousness of Ukrainians, the riddle of Ivano-Frankivsk and the labyrinth of the Minotaur
Photo from the personal archive of Oksana Stratiychuk
My name…
Oksana Stratiychuk.
I was born…
In Kiev, where I still live.
Now I live…
In Kiev.
The Best creative moment of my life…
It is difficult to answer, probably, when I realized or rather felt that I could express myself with the help of a pencil and a piece of paper. This feeling of magic remains forever.
My childhood was…
Happy and careless. It took place in Kiev on Nivki, where I went to school, then went to Vynogradar to the artist, then Syrets and Taras Shevchenko State Art School.
My favorite area of the city…
I love and loved Podol, lived there for a while, I think to move there again. There I feel as if in a natural environment.
My least favorite area of the city…
I don’t like industrial zones and bazaars.
The place where I am going all the time, but I just can’t get…
I want to get to Ivano-Frankivsk, for a long time I have been interested in the question of why the phenomenon of modern Ukrainian literature has developed there, what special do they have there in this city?
The main difference between residents of your city and residents of other cities…
Kievans have become like the inhabitants of the metropolis – anxious and in a hurry.
Your city is better than many European cities…
It seems to me that it is good that we have our own beach and a river in which you can swim.
In Ukraine, over the past decade, it has changed…
There was a feeling of freedom, some kind of confidence or rather responsibility for what people do. I don’t want to be pretentious, but it looks like a civic consciousness is forming in our country.
I want to change in my hometown…
Public transport does not stand up to criticism, and it is high time to take up the issues of processing household waste.
I miss in my hometown…
We are now living in visual chaos. It’s like a salad made from all the ingredients: marble, brick, plastic and concrete. Of course, Kiev, due to its natural relief, neutralizes this as much as it can, but such an environment forms a bad taste among the residents.
If not in Kiev, then in which city of Ukraine would I live…
Probably, I could live in Chernivtsi. It’s not accurate but interesting.
Metaphor, literary hero, association for modern Ukraine…
A labyrinth where you can meet the Minotaur or you can exit with a magic thread.
Ideally Ukraine…
This is a place where people respect themselves and love their country.
I’m worried about…
As a person who has worked in the field of education for many years, I am worried about its quality, as it leaves much to be desired in our country.
Now it inspires me…
I like talented, active people who do something. For example, Alexander Milovzorov, an artist who, together with his colleagues, created the first private gallery in Kiev “Triptych” on Andreevskiy Spusk. They did not wait for someone to give them something, but did it themselves.
Professionally, I wish myself…
Opportunities to learn new things, surprise and surprise the viewer.
