When does the madness stop? How on earth can one commit an ecocide of this magnitude? In a war zone and a period of climate crisis? Why this collapse of the Khakovka dam on June 6th 2023? Why start a war at all, instead of addressing the call of nature?
Without any former training, at the age of 69, Polina Raiko (1928-2004) started her painting adventure in 1998. Tirelessly, she worked, day and night, until all walls and ceilings of her house were covered with worldly and otherworldly motives.
After hard times under Soviet occupation, a difficult family life, and the subsequent loss of her daughter, husband, and son in the 1990s, her painting activities had a therapeutic effect on her personal life.
Through floral, faunal and angelic motives in a typical Ukrainian palette with heavenly blues, sunny yellows, and healthy greens, she reconciled herself with her fate, sending big hearts, kissing doves, and lovely daisies to the beyond.
Photo: Oleksandr Ihnatenko, Svidomi, juni 2023 (unfortunately this wall-painting behind the artist is completely destroyed)
She received acclaim from her countrymen. They came en masse to admire the exceptional nature of her naïve wall paintings, and to meet her in person.
We usually think that training is one if not the most important criterium for art. But, at least in outsider art, intuition in art (painting) is valued also. Undistracted by the intellect, it stems from a deeper level of our being and easily touches hearts.
During the war, Raiko’s doves have become symbols of cultural resistance.