Ukrainian Artist Floweirdy Creates Beauty Despite War
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Loading... - Zeta Carpino
- 04 Oct 2022
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Although her homeland of Ukraine continues to be ravaged by war, the artist known as Floweirdy is creating some unexpected beauty for the world.
The Ukrainian talent, whose given name is Litovka, teamed with the Ukrainian apparel label Sleeper for its most recent ad campaign. Adept at reconsidering modern fashion and creating elegiac shoes made from flowers, fruit, vegetables and other unexpected finds like lollipops, medical masks and chestnut shells, she did just that for the dreamy imagery.
As one of the more than 7.7 million people who have left their homes in Ukraine since the Russian invasion started in late February, she said her departure was so rushed that she left behind an unmade bed and daffodils blooming on a windowsill. “It’s like something unfinished — an old life forcibly left behind. These are shattered dreams and plans for the day and for life,” she said.
Despite uprooting her life in Ukraine to relocate to Spain, she said, “My heart is in Ukraine. It is impossible to cope with it and it is impossible to run away from it.”
Her preference now is to stay indoors while absorbing the pain of her “big home, the Ukraine.” After Russian soldiers invaded, she became disillusioned with beauty, which “began to seem irrelevant, unimportant and un-saving.” Dreaming of being able to make magical shoes that would “keep every Ukrainian woman and child safe,” Litovka said, “Unfortunately, all I can do is make beautiful shoes.”
Having felt like an artist since she was a child, Litovka said, “I don’t think it’s a job. I like doing it and being inside. It’s better to describe it from the outside.”
However resigned that might sound, the artist explained, “At the same time, I realized that not much remains unchanged. But beauty hasn’t gone anywhere, although now I feel like I’m blind. I will try to see it again and create it, even out of tears.” Read More...
