IRYNA DUNAEVA

war. From the very first days, Iryna remained in Kyiv with her family, engaging in volunteer work. This experience was pivotal and deeply impacted her art. She shifted her artistic focus from global ecological issues to the genocide against the Ukrainian nation. The horrors unfolding outside left no refuge even within. By replicating the stories they live through, artists like Iryna reinforce collective memory and imprint these events onto consciousness.

In her artistic practice, Iryna works with mediums such as painting, photography, installation, and collage. In 2023, she embraced sculpting using the papier-mâché technique, a method historically used to create images for "Malanka" celebrations. Molding wet paper into forms, she feels as though she is connecting with the spirits of her ancestors, drawing strength from the deep traditions of her nation.

In early 2024, Iryna became a member of the CUTOUT LOVERS community under the CUTOUT COLLAGE ART PROJECT, and in September of the same year, she became a resident. As a resident of CUTOUT FESTIVAL, joined the art activism project "For the Sake of a Letter," where artists and the families of prisoners of war came together to draw attention to the violations of the conditions of detention of prisoners of war (both military and civil) in russia and breaches of the Geneva Convention regarding the right to correspondence.

In September 2023, she joined forces with artists Liliya Topolyuk and Masha "Iskra" to participate in the collective exhibition "Seeing Dreams" with the project "Masks Framing Myth," which was presented in January 2024 at the "Museum of History" in Kyiv. Their joint research on the myths of various regions of Ukraine led to the creation of the art group "Masks³." In 2024, this art group was showcased with two large-scale installations—"Square Thoughts" and "Free Thoughts"—that explore the connection and influence of myths on contemporary society, at VDNH in the "V'yava" space.