>> "Mavky. Camouflage”/Olena Grom
Photographer Olena Grom presented her own multimedia project “Mavky. Camouflage”. It is dedicated to Ukrainian women who weave camouflage clothing for the military, which imitates natural colors and saves lives.
The heroines of the project are real women, residents of the Ukrainian village of Gorenka, Buchansky district. The artist told about this on her Facebook page.
In March 2022, the village was on the front line and was subjected to constant shelling. According to the UN, as a result of Russian aggression, 77% of the buildings in Gorenka were destroyed.
For local residents, those events became a severe trauma, houses were destroyed, neighbors died before their eyes. The liberation of Kyiv region gave an impetus to the restoration of the village and social ties in society, but the war continued.
“Mavky. Camouflage”
Trying to be useful to society, the women of Gorenka organized the “Gorenski Mavky” volunteer team. They have different ages, different professions and different social status, but they are united by the desire to do something important together, – said Olena Grom.even the blackout of the winter of 2022-2023 did not prevent it, because the women worked under the constant threat of rocket fire, by candlelight and in the cold. Now volunteers continue to produce “kikimora” for snipers and scouts, because the need for such tools is constant. They are convinced that camouflage products woven with love and faith have the power of a charm.
“Mavky. Camouflage”
In times of greatest trials, people turn to their roots, to that common ground that has shaped their national identity for thousands of years. And today Ukrainian mythology has come in handy along with other components of culture. The folklore image of Mavka is one of the most famous, it is sung in legends, works of art, and in art. An ambivalent figure on the border between the worlds of the living and the dead, recently, thanks to Lesya Ukrainka's “Forest Song” in particular, the peacock has become a symbol of victorious femininity, ardent selfless love, added Olena Grom.