World - XXXIX

Victoria Kovalenchikova

'World - XXXIX'

'I have travelled the world, from my native Belarus to Asia, the Americas, and other parts of Europe. I have had the great fortune to interact with people from around the globe and absorb its many cultures.

What I wish to show in my new Earth series is that our planet itself is a work of art---a kaleidoscope of colors, a patchwork of patterns; an interconnected sphere without beginning or end. Viewing it from space, using Google images, I want this collection to showcase this amazing entity, in order that we may appreciate and ultimately save it.

We sometimes need a new perspective. I want people to see the wonder of the world from above; perhaps as an eagle sees it from a mountain aerie, a pilot from the cabin of his airplane or the astronaut from the surface of the moon. A mufti-hued orb spinning among thousands of other stars, yet unique.

While my earlier series zoomed in on the tight confines of urban life in our metropolises--connecting people to the intimacy of their living spaces--the Earth series zooms out, taking the long view of our home from the skies above. My mixed-media creations radiate the colors of each continent; I try to bring the textures of the planet alive, so that you can feel the heat of the volcanoes, the parched thirst of the massive deserts, the cool blues of our all-encompassing oceans. Some parts are smooth, and some are rough and rugged.

Although we humans may feel like disconnected, independent fragments, Earth reminds us that we are all united on this place: notes within a larger symphony of life. No different from the massive whale in the ocean or the tiniest needle of a pine tree. There is no way out; to save ourselves we must save our home'.