Jenya Polosina
Ukrainian illustrator, Jenya Polosina, living in Kyiv, endures the daily threat of bombing. She wants the world to not look away from the ongoing war.
How do you start your morning?
We fled to the western city of Chernivtsi when the situation was most dire. We have since returned to Kyiv and our everyday life looks much more like our usual pre-war routine. That said, the news, and getting accurate information, is more important now than ever, vital even. I wake up, take my dog out, make my breakfast and start working. When we were in Chernivtsi, things were similar, but we pretty much just worked and slept. Now we can see our loved ones for coffee and catch up on the lost time.
What’s become more important, and less important?
During the first week of the full-scale invasion, all I cared about was my loved ones, and that they stayed safe. After the initial shock subsided, some of the old priorities came back. But what’s most important right now is to win, this is the main reason for everything we do now. We illustrate, write statements, and collect donations for the victory. Nowadays, I am a borderline expert on heavy weaponry and ammunition, which is utterly unimaginable.
Your friends lived through atrocities in the city of Bucha. How are they now?
My friends Sasha, Vika and her family are doing well. They endured an arduous process of evacuation. Currently, Sasha and Vika are back in Kyiv while their parents opted to return to Bucha. Within a week after escaping from the occupation, Sasha (Oleksandr Manukians) started a project designing furniture for temporary housing for those displaced by war: Peremebli.
Illustrations, by Jenya Polosina and Anna Ivanenko, originally made for Hyperallergic. Continue clicking on the right image to see the full story.
What isn’t being discussed enough right now?
The world’s attention to the atrocities in Ukraine is on the decline. Everyone is tired. It’s important to continue talking about Ukraine and reminding each other that there is a war going on and that people are dying daily. This is far from normal and we shouldn’t grow complacent with these horrors. We should continue reminding the world that Russia has attacked our country, unprovoked and without reason. They are trying to steal our land and trying to erase Ukrainian culture and identity. Also, Russia is terrorizing the whole world. They bargain with the lives of innocent people. Grain shortages directly related to this occupation are exacerbating starvation crises in countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia and many others. They will use these atrocities as leverage in hopes of getting what they want.
Favorite book?
Hard to say. I’ll choose Pretending is Lying by Dominique Goblet, it is a very visually rich, beautiful work, like everything she does. Ever since I got into comics more, graphic novels have been a major inspiration.
