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Elena Alyabyeva - White Town
The White Town series shows a journey from desperation, loss, and helplessness to a new meaning, rebirth, and stability. It is the artist’s reflection on the past, a lesson in living in the present, and an effort in building a better future. It is a realization that even though Elena might come back to the life she had in her native city, this time it will not be the same. This time she will make sure that every bite of life is tastier, brighter, and is unforgettable. All of the drawings were drawn from life. The first few were drawn every day over a six-day period and show a quick transformation after a month of pain and frustration, the last two were drawn a few weeks later and are a coda to the series.
Elena was born in Kharkiv, a big industrial city in Eastern Ukraine very close to the border with Russia. She graduated from Kharkiv Art Lyceum, a secondary school where children are taught regular studies, art, and music in parallel. After school her parents insisted that she get a “real” education and she finished law school, taking private art classes at the same time. She quickly realized that a career in law is not for her and art became her main occupation. In time, Elena developed a unique style, where one might see elements of rayonism and cubism that are brought down to earth by colorful and vibrant, yet real, fauvism. Unfortunately, the Russian invasion dramatically changed her life and her art.
For the first week of the war Elena with her family lived in a metro station. After a while it became increasingly hard to stay underground with a small child and aging mother and they decided to leave the city and head to Western Ukraine. The evacuation train looked exactly like in the news or movies. An edgeless grey sea of people was moving in waves on a platform towards a long chain of railroad cars. In that chaos Elena with her family were able to board one of the trains. They were not allowed to take anything but a backpack so that more people could fit. Their journey took them through Kyiv. At that time there was vicious fighting close to the capital and everyone on the train was told to keep the blinds closed, the lights and electronics off, because the enemy might consider this a target. After 20 hours in a metal box without a glimpse of the outside, they arrived in L’viv and then shortly in Uzhhorod, a town very close to the Slovakian border. Elena and her family were placed in a school gym with a few dozen other people, but, as she mentioned, they were very privileged, because they had a shower on premises. Some of the other groups were not so lucky. Regardless of the harsh conditions she remembers how helpful the local people were. They made every effort to stabilize the lives of the refugees.
For about a month after fleeing her home she could not imagine if she would ever pick up a brush or a pencil again. After some time Elena decided that the enemy might have taken her home and her material possessions, but what cannot be taken is her inner world and inner peace. Uzhhorod greeted them with hospitality and became a new home. She still could not think in color and decided to show the town as something clean and bright, as a new blank sheet of paper. These were Elena’s first works after the relocation and this series was named - White Town.
Window
pen, marker on paper, 8.3 x 5.5 in
Created on April 5, 2022
This is the first work in the series. In order to establish some normalcy Elena with her family went for a walk everyday and took her sketchbook and utensils with her. On those walks she began to fancy Uzhhorod architecture. In the drawing it is early spring and a few timid flowers can be seen on the branches of the trees. It is a look from the outside in, into this dark window, as if the Spring is calling on the person inside to come out.
Current
pen, marker on paper, 5.5 x 8.3 in
Created on April 6, 2022
The focus of the painting is the river Uzh that is flowing through the city of Uzhhorod. After a downpour in the mountains above, the river rises dramatically and overflows onto the banks. The current becomes very fast and turbulent. The artist was captivated and mentally swept away by this current that has been flowing through here for thousands of years. The river saw Empires rise and fall, generations crossed it, were born, lived, and died on its banks. It was all washed away by the water. Above is the Uzhhorod Pedestrian Bridge. It is being pushed, almost attacked, by the water to a point where the streetlights are rocking back and forth. The bridge is only temporary on this Earth and eventually it too will be swept away by the mighty river. Hopefully, the strong current will take all of the problems with it, the river will come down, and we will see peaceful skies in the reflection of the surface of the water. The river is life.
Raining
pen, marker on paper, 8.3 x 5.5 in
Created on April 7, 2022
In this drawing Elena came out on the street and it began to rain. In Kharkiv Elena never liked rain, but here, in Uzhhorod, she wanted for it to go on. Flashes and even explosions can be seen in the violent sky reflecting on Elena’s experience back home. She watched all of those memories come down, crash against the pavement, and break into million droplets in order to be washed away by the streams of rainwater.
On the Roof
pen, marker on paper, 5.5 x 8.3 in
Created on April 8, 2022
Here, Elena for the first time felt like she could go out and visit some newfound friends. She is standing on a large patio on the top floor of a building. It is early and the sun’s rays begin to break through the milky morning air, crawl from roof to roof, and color them with vibrant colors. A blossoming apricot tree is finally, after waiting all night, turning its flowers towards the sun.
A Night in the Mountains
pen, marker on paper, 5.5 x 8.3 in
Created on April 9, 2022
The following night Elena and other refugees went camping in the mountains. Elena came out of her tent at night and saw the moon highlighting the mountain chain. Suddenly, a bell begins to toll in a distant village announcing some religious holiday. The sound is so clear that Elena can see it reverberating and bouncing through the mountains filling everything around, as if the mountains themselves are tolling, turning this moment into eternity.
Light Wind in the Park
pen, marker on paper, 5.5 x 8.3 in
Created on April 10, 2022
The fluidity of this work is an effort to show that this was the first day when Elena felt truly calm and relaxed. She knows that her home is still far away, but here she feels comfortable and not out of place anymore. Everything is in bloom in the park and the air is warm and palpable. The shadows from ancient trees flow and envelop Elena, like an old friend wrapping her in a blanket.
Square
pen, marker on paper, 8.3 x 5.5 in
Created on April 22, 2022
This was drawn after the turmoil of the first weeks and of the relocation had passed. Central to this drawing is a square somewhere in the city, it is protected by a shell of buildings and trees. The square is a metaphor for emptiness, but emptiness as a hope that it will be filled. This is the first work in the series with clearly defined color. Elena comes out of her shell and begins to fill her world with new hopes and realities.
Rain Over Town
pen, marker on paper, 5.5 x 8.3 in
Created on May 5, 2022
This drawing is a retrospective and a coda to the series. Here we see heavy mountains literally hanging over and a violent rain that is trying to wash off the past. Its drops explode against the surface of the river bringing memories of the not so distant past. A small and unstable bridge almost invites us out of the picture and the “blurry” technique that Elena used here reminds us that this is just a memory.
in private collection
About the creator of the Conflicted Art project:
Yevgen Nemchenko came to the United States from Ukraine 20 years ago. He has been an art and antiques collector for over 10 years focusing primarily on local and American art. However, when the invasion happened, he felt he had to help the situation in the only meaningful way he could. Yevgen used his network in the Ukrainian art world to purchase a number of works with the goal of helping artists personally and giving them and their work more global exposure. Doing so would encourage a way of looking beyond the often hyper-visual, dehumanizing, and sensationalist media pieces, but instead to look at Ukraine and the wider context of the war through the humanity, creativity, and personal stories coming of Ukrainian artists. Yevgen would like to thank his wife Kristina for her constant encouragement and support throughout this project, his longtime friend, Oleg V., for helping with graphic design and sharing in the costs, as well as a good friend, James Gregg, for his academic eye and editing.