Ewelina
Kogut

The subject of this degree piece is the plight of the Lemkos, which they had to endure in the distant past, but considering current events in the world, such as the war in Ukraine or the conflict between Palestine and Israel, I consider it quite current. In the name of political games, people have always been exiled, stripped of their identity, and uprooted from the land that was dearest to them.

This degree piece is a form of tribute to those who have been wronged. However, it refers not only to those events but to the Lemkivshchyna as a region rich in remarkable culture, beliefs, and the people who created it all. It shows a bygone world full of magic, religion, and superstitions, filled with hard work in difficult living conditions, and eventually, presents the traces it left behind. You can find there references to folk art, whose remains are still there.

The minor degree in painting and its painting style allude to the folklore, a kind of naivety typical for the Lemko culture that can still be found in those lands. In combination with the symbolism, e.g. the colour red flooding the paintings, it corresponds to the brutality of the displacement they experienced.

The minor degree in drawing, painted linearly, shows the Lemkos’ everyday life, and the drawing style resembles folk cut-outs, but also – with the various patterns made up of lines – painting Easter eggs in the Lemko manner, still popular and cultivated.