The artist Vira Barinova-Kuleba (born 1938) is the creator of a series of works on the theme of the Holodomor.
Her paintings recount her own family’s experiences during the Holodomor genocide – a period in which her grandfather Mykola died, her childhood was lost, and the family was resettled from their farmstead into collective farm servitude – as well as memories of the war and the post-war famine. The paintings were part of the collection of the American patron Morgan Williams, which was donated to the Holodomor Museum in 2024.
The painting ‘Grandfather Mykola in 1933’ (1999) is dedicated to the artist’s grandfather, who died of starvation during the Holodomor. It depicts a man lying on the ground. His cap resembles a saint’s halo. An exhausted ox lies beside him. ‘It [the painting] moved me so deeply because it seemed as though the Almighty was looking down from space upon this man and his ox,’ the artist admitted.
‘Unforgettable’ (2004–2005). The painting depicts a woman supporting her dying husband, whose bright soul is drifting away. Behind them, an all-seeing eye watches, witnessing what people have done to one another.
‘Son, this is your land’ (2006). A woman, harnessed to a yoke, embraces her newborn child. The newborn baby, too, is a slave to this land. In this work, the earth is both a provider and a yoke, which those who labour upon it must bear for the rest of their lives.
‘Lord! Why? Starvation’ (2006–2007). This painting is dedicated to my grandfather and grandmother, farmers who grew the grain but are now doomed to a terrible death. The image of the grandfather serves as a reminder that famine is ravaging people, reducing them to a state where they lose their human form. His plea to the Almighty: ‘Lord! Why? Death by starvation’ – is a cry of despair that goes unanswered.
‘The Death of Grandfather Mykola and Grandmother Marfa in 1933’ (2007). Another painting dedicated to Grandmother and Grandfather, whose luminous figures lie on the ground. Above them is a scythe, symbolising both the labour of the fields and, at the same time, death.
The painting ‘Motherhood in 1933’ (2008) depicts a mother leaning in despair over the cradle of her dead child. The loss of children suffered by thousands of Ukrainian women during the Holodomor is the greatest pain and the most profound trauma that Ukrainian mothers endured as a result of the genocide.
The artist Vira Barynova-Kuleba (born 1938) is the creator of a series of works on the theme of the Holodomor. (Simplified)
Her paintings depict her own family’s experiences during the Holodomor genocide, in which her grandfather Mykola died, her lost childhood, the relocation from a farmstead to the bondage of the collective farm, as well as memories of the war and the post-war famine. The paintings were part of the collection of the American patron Morgan Williams, which the Holodomor Museum received as a gift in 2024.
The painting ‘Grandfather Mykola in 1933’ (1999) is dedicated to the artist’s grandfather, who died of starvation during the Holodomor. It depicts a man lying on the ground. His hat resembles a saint’s halo. An exhausted ox lies nearby. ‘It [the painting] moved me so deeply because it seemed as though the Almighty was looking down from space upon this man and his ox,’ the artist admitted.
‘Unforgettable’ (2004–2005). The painting depicts a woman supporting her dying husband, whose bright soul is drifting away. Behind them, an all-seeing eye watches, witnessing what people have done to one another.
‘Son, this is your land’ (2006). A woman, harnessed to a yoke, cradles her newborn child. The newborn baby, too, is a slave to this land. In this work, the land is both a provider and a yoke, which those who labour upon it must bear for the rest of their lives.
‘Lord! Why? Starvation’ (2006–2007). This painting is dedicated to my grandfather and grandmother, farmers who grew the bread but are now facing a terrible death. The image of the grandfather serves as a reminder that famine ravages people, causing them to lose their human form. His plea to the Almighty: ‘Lord! Why? Starvation’ is a cry of despair that goes unanswered.
‘The Death of Grandfather Mykola and Grandmother Marfa in 1933’ (2007). Another painting dedicated to Grandmother and Grandfather, whose luminous figures lie on the ground. Above them is a scythe, symbolising both the labour of the fields and, at the same time, death.
The painting ‘Motherhood in 1933’ (2008) depicts a mother leaning in despair over the cradle of her dead child. The loss of children suffered by thousands of Ukrainian women during the Holodomor is the greatest pain and the most profound trauma that Ukrainian mothers endured as a result of the genocide.
