Oil, canvas on a stretcher 60*90 cm
July 2023
Polissya is an almost hundred-kilometer strip of amazing forests, swamps, lakes and rivers in the north of Ukraine. This includes modern Rivne, Volyn, Zhytomyr regions and the northern regions of Chernihiv Oblast, Sumy Oblast, and Kyiv Oblast.
Polissya embroideries are distinguished by simplicity, but at the same time elegance, miniatureness, a wealth of options and clarity of composition. Restraint of lines and geometric motifs, lack of detail in ornaments and a small number of techniques come to life thanks to the use of red threads, which gives the works brightness and emotionality.
The most traditional here is geometric embroidery, which is one of the oldest in the history of mankind. In Kyiv region and Chernihiv region, traditional geometric motifs were successfully combined with plant motifs (birches, dogwoods, grapes, periwinkles, hops, goose feet, etc.).
Shirts for women at Polissya were sewn from high-quality, slightly, but not completely, bleached canvas, which became softer and silkier each time after washing.
A long time ago, a shirt was considered a symbol of the soul of the person to whom it belonged, its double.
Therefore, a special meaning was invested in every ornament embroidered on it, making it a talisman of its owner.
The inhabitants of Polissya are called "Polishchuks".
So the angel girl in my picture is a ..."Polishuchka"