Ukrainians by Yana Barabash in Ventnor

This work is deeply personal to me. It is a visual distillation of my relationship with my people, my roots, and the land that shaped my inner landscape. The figures are not portraits in a literal sense, but embodiments of lineage, memory, and continuity. Traditional garments, gestures, and animals form a shared symbolic field — a living ecosystem where human presence and nature are inseparable. The inclusion of domestic animals, such as goats and poultry, is intentional. They represent everyday life, humility, and an unbroken connection to the soil — not as nostalgia, but as lived knowledge passed through generations. I used Italian gold accents to emphasize the decorative and ritual quality of the composition. The gold does not elevate the scene into something distant or sacred; instead, it highlights the quiet dignity of ordinary life, turning the familiar into something timeless.