Posing in the Garden, 2023

Dasha Pogodina   Best sellers Emerging artists

This painting will come to you stretched on a wooden stretcher and completely ready to be placed in the interior. ABOUT THE ARTWORK In "Posing in the Garden," from the "Archive of Happiness: Unlived Chronicles," I offer a vision of peace that my family's history never allowed. This reimagined scene portrays the tranquil existence that was taken from my ancestors. The figure, set against the backdrop of a vibrant garden, symbolizes a dream of serenity and the joy that might have filled their days. This painting is my way of soothing the wounds of the past, a personal endeavor to paint a history where beauty and peace prevail. It's a tribute to the strength and perseverance inherent in my heritage, a conscious move away from the grief that history imposed on us. The use of bright colors and relaxed posture in the artwork is my celebration of potential and the vibrant life that could have been ours. Series Archive of happiness. Unlived Chronicles This is a way for me to work through the trauma of generations who were deprived of the opportunity to have happy years of childhood youth and maturity throughout the 20th century. My family's photos and stories are full of sadness and pain, unfulfilled dreams and broken destinies. The Soviet government was engaged in the dispossession, and displacement of people, families were forced to abandon their homes. I want to create a false archive in which generations of my family were happy. My task as an artist is to rewrite the script, to give voice and image to what my ancestors dreamed of but could not get. I paint the carefree times that didn't exist, in which they were happy, living in their beautiful rich houses, studying, meeting their love, gathering as a big family for holidays, and whispering each other secrets about suitors. For me it is a way to come to terms with the trauma of generations condemned to survival instead of life, to create a personal image of a future of joy and prosperity, and to show society and others with similar backgrounds that liberation lies not in suffering but in rethinking and strength.