Of Bread and Salt Audio Recordings

Exhibited in 2024 at Gallery 4Culture in Seattle, WA, Хліб-сіль: Of Bread and Salt is a series of portrait series of eight Ukrainian families who immigrated to Seattle as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The paintings are based on recorded interviews. Each conversation began with questions about the participants’ homes and the experience of leaving. During the exhibition, a recording played giving voice to the paintings. Moving between Ukrainian, Russian and English, the voices of the sitters recounted the individual experience of displacement, weaving together a collective narrative.

Below, navigate to individual stories and choose between original recordings or English translations

LILlIA, SERGII, DANILO, AND MISHA

... и есть обычная сирень, у которой как правило 4 лепестка. Mы все детство, выискивали сирень с 5 лепестками. И если мы ее находили, мы загадывали желание и ее съедали.”

“… and there’s ordinary lilac which usually has 4 petals. In our childhood, we always looked for the lilac with 5 petals. And if we found it, we made a wish and ate it.

SOFYA BELINSKAYA

visual artist based in Seattle, WA

Of Bread and Salt Audio Recordings

LILlIA, SERGII, DANILO, AND MISHA

... и есть обычная сирень, у которой как правило 4 лепестка. Mы все детство, выискивали сирень с 5 лепестками. И если мы ее находили, мы загадывали желание и ее съедали.”

“… and there’s ordinary lilac which usually has 4 petals. In our childhood, we always looked for the lilac with 5 petals. And if we found it, we made a wish and ate it.

-Liliia