Another Ukrainian heritage treasure that has become subject to destruction is the house of the elderly Polina Raiko, who turned its walls, ceiling and every spot in it into artistic paintings, making it a symbol of folk art in southern Ukraine.
The house, decorated with pictures inspired by the rich natural life, is the latest victim of the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine, which Moscow and Kiev have accused of destroying it.
Raikou spent her life in the village of Oleshki, south of Kherson, and is among those hardest hit by the floods caused by the dam’s collapse last week.
What happened to the art house?
The British newspaper “The Guardian” reported that because the village is under Russian control, no one has been able to visit the house-turned-masterpiece and assess its condition, but even the limited news that was leaked was bad.
“The last thing we know is that the neighbors said that the first floor of their house was flooded, which means Raikou’s house will be flooded to the roof,” said Simon Khramtsov, an artist from Kherson.
And if the dam collapses completely, it is possible that the entire house will be swept away, but because of its traditional structure, even a few days in the water may cause serious “irreparable” damage.
“Her main and only artistic work was this house. We have lost her heritage and her physical presence,” said art historian and journalist who runs the “History of Ukrainian Art” account on Twitter, Oksana Semenek.
Raiko was part of the folk art of Ukraine, and perhaps its most famous predecessor in this tradition was the painter Maria Primachenko, who was also a “target” in this war.
An attack on Primachenko’s native Ivankiv set a museum housing many of her works on fire, and some are missing.
#Kakhovka #Dam #blown #up.. #masterpiece #house #faces #destruction
2023-06-12 17:08:05
