Anzhela Yurkivska is a well-known artist from Mariupol. She recalls the first time she smelled gunpowder in her home. In 2022, in the town of Rokytne, Kyiv Region, she woke up to familiar sounds – it was the start of a bombing campaign by russian troops.
Rokytne was not affected by the invasion, but instead became a kind of staging area for Anzhela's friends. Every day, she would call her friends in Mariupol, hoping to hear a signal.
And to save herself from the constant horrors of war, she returned to art. When she learned about the explosion in the Drama Theatre, her work, The Resurrection of Mariupol, took on red tones. The war also added a touch of pain to the artist's subsequent works.
Now, Anzhela Yurkivska dreams of returning to Mariupol, Ukraine, to organise an exhibition of her work there.
