Artist Statement

Iryna Kurylo

Artist Statement

I see cultural memory as a bridge that connects past and present generations. It exists in the form of words, images, materials and objects. Being born into a particular culture endows a person with a heritage of privileged information that those outside the culture don’t have access to. Storing, sharing, and recalling memories of our heritage is essential to our sense of self-continuity. Knowledge of our cultural origins connects us to people, who lived before us, and whose lives made our lives and existence possible as well as influenced the formation of our identity.

Cultural groups share collective memories. Members of the group together have a capacity to remember more than each separate individual, since they rely on each other to keep the memory of the past alive. When an individual is isolated from such a group, he or she becomes the only one responsible to keep their part of the collective memory.

Having moved away from my home in Ukraine, I struggle with nostalgia and fear of losing my cultural identity. This fear of being disconnected from home urges me to research my country’s history, language, beliefs and traditions to be able to pass them on to my children. The images and forms that I create reflect my longing for the connection with home through the remembrance of the past.

I draw my inspiration from Ukrainian folk crafts like traditional embroidery and Easter egg patterns that incorporate numerous symbols of ancient Slavic beliefs and worldviews. I implement textures and patterns created by these symbols to refer to my personal heritage and history. When building my forms I often experiment with nesting objects inside one another and creating layers. Process of carving through the layers to reveal layers underneath relates to the idea of looking into the past through layers of memory.