2026, Kyiv, Ukraine.
The artist seeks to capture a sense of fragility that borders on stability and strength: in the structures depicted, in the growth of plants, and in the contrast between the barrenness of the soil and, conversely, its fertility. In the works presented in the exhibition, we see flowerbeds and holes made for seeds, and as viewers, we cannot tell whether they are craters or newly prepared planting spots. They balance between emergence and damage, leaving the boundary between the two deliberately indistinct.
“For the most part, I work with the context of the regions of Left-Bank Ukraine where I have lived, which I understand and know well. I was strongly influenced by the Kharkiv school—I mainly studied under monumentalists, and still retain the limited colour palette I learned there. The Kharkiv school of drawing also had a strong influence on me: I copied a lot of works by my teachers and other well-known figures. I consciously continue to work exclusively with monumental and easel painting, but before the actual work begins, I turn to archival materials or local histories behind the places and objects I depict,” Synytsia emphasises.
The artist has also created a site-specific work directly in the gallery space. “I wanted to make something the size of a wall—this comes up often in my practice,” says Karina. “The work depicts a moment of transplanting flowers: the pots seem to hang in space above a fountain into which water flows. On the fountain is a sculpture from the Kharkiv embankment: a man missing a leg. The sculpture's leg was damaged during the Second World War, and the sculpture was later dismantled.”