Zhyva Project: the soul and the part of heart is in the paintings
These paintings show endless love and the strength to live and move on. The charity art therapy project Zhyva (Alive) has finished in Kryvyi Rih, and the wives of the fallen defenders and employees of our company took part in it. The project was supported by ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and Kryvyi Rih Art School No. 1.
Almost every day, Ukraine pays its last respects to heroes who gave their lives for their country and their families. Their relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms are deeply affected by this loss. “Sometimes you don't want to live, but somehow you have to,” say the wives of the fallen. The All-Ukrainian project Zhyva is one of the ways to ease this pain - to help the wives of the fallen through creativity to live through the grief of losing their loved ones.
“If I start talking now, I will definitely start crying. It's very hard, my soul is hurting,” warned Nataliia Bielikova, wife of the fallen hero Oleksii Bielikov, who worked as an operator at hot rolling mill control station of Section Rolling Shop No. 2 at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih. - Even now, my Oleksii is always by my side and protects our family from heaven. In my painting, he looks like a wolf, which was personified as a symbol of strength of spirit, courage, and bravery by Ukrainians for a long period of time. And the girl next to him is me. My daughter and I still feel the invisible presence of my husband, so I painted this scene.”
Oleksii Bielikov first defended Ukraine in 2014. He fought his way out of the Ilovaisk and Debaltseve cauldrons and was wounded. In 2018, Oleksii rejoined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a reconnaissance officer defending Donetsk region.
Junior Sergeant Oleksii Bielikov was fatally wounded by a drone attack when he was returning from a combat mission. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the hero - he died on June 10, 2023. He left a wife, Nataliia Bielikova, who works as a laboratory assistant at Heat and Power Plant No. 3 of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and seven-year-old daughter, Kateryna. According to Nataliia, the daughter is very proud of her father, and she resembles him in appearance. She also loves her dog, which her father gave her for her birthday.
“I did not immediately agree to participate in Zhyva project. I had some doubts, I hesitated whether I would be able to withstand it morally and whether I would be able to paint anything at all, because I had never picked up a brush in my life,” Nataliia continues,” As you can see, I did (smiles). “Zhyva project was an opportunity for me to express myself, to try to do something I had never done before. Also, working on the painting somehow calmed me down, relieved the emotional pain that is well known to people who have lost their dearest ones.”
Together with Nataliia Bielikova, the participants of Zhyva project were Svitlana Avramenko, Tetiana Hora, Iryna Topaltseva, Tetiana Korolova, Viktoriia Stelmakh, Yana Voloshyna, and Liudmyla Mashnenko. They worked on the paintings for one week with the help of professional artists.
“Working with women was both easy and difficult. First of all, they are not artists, so I had to explain how to draw, how to use acrylic paints, draw details, etc. On the other hand, this work captivated the women and united them. The project participants say that they have become stronger and calmer at the same time because they have spilled their emotions and feelings onto the canvas,” Oksana Polishchuk, director of Art School No. 1, shared her impressions of working with women.
“We loved traveling together with my husband. It's so exciting to discover different parts of Ukraine, to get to know the peculiarities of the culture of its regions. Our plans were to go abroad, see how people live there, admire the architectural monuments, and find ourselves among exotic nature. My painting of the elephant is like a piece of our dream of traveling together, which, unfortunately, will not come true,” said Tetiana Korolova, wife of the fallen soldier Anatolii Korolov, who was working as a gas man at Mechanical Repair Shop No. 1 of the Foundry and Mechanical Plant for more than 20 years.
Anatolii was drafted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the first days of the full-scale invasion on February 25, 2022. First, he defended his native Kryvyi Rih as part of the Territorial Defense Forces, and then he defended Kharkiv region with his comrades from Kholodnyi Yar. On June 27, the hero's courageous heart stopped beating, and he died on the battlefield in Izium district.
“When I was working on the painting, I tried to forget about everything that had happened and thought only about the good things. I also realized that I could create, because I had never painted before,” continued Tetiana Korolova,” My husband had a unique trait - he always helped people. I often heard him say the familiar expression “who else but me”. When Anatolii was drafted into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, he did not hesitate to defend his country. When my husband passed away, the plant and my husband's colleagues were the first to come to my aid. Believe me, such support is incredibly valuable! It inspires me and gives me strength to live - for the sake of our two children and the future of the country. My son is also a military man now. His father is an example of courage for him, and his son is proud of him. I thank the project organizers for the unique opportunity to forget about the dark days we have experienced and to preserve the bright memory of our heroes-husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters with these paintings.”
