Firecatcher, 2025
In Firecatcher, Natasha conjures the vision of a mythic feminine figure, suspended between worlds—guardian, seer, witness. Her abstracted face emerges from a storm of textured color and ancestral memory, confronting the viewer with an otherworldly stillness.
A black crow, perched in the upper right, hovers as a familiar of transformation—watchful, knowing, a harbinger between realms. From the woman’s forehead bursts a blood-red sunflower, collaged in vivid defiance. It blooms like a third eye, both wound and wisdom, radiating the fire of resistance. Surrounding, yellow and blue rays shoot outward in an aura of light and heat—colors of the Ukrainian flag, refracted through pain, pride, and persistence. These rays do not merely illuminate; they burn with purpose, lighting the path for those who carry truth through darkness.
Interwoven into the composition are fragments of Ukrainian traditional motifs—embroidery patterns, ritual forms, and echoes of motanka-like protectresses—all anchoring the work in the cultural and spiritual inheritance of Natasha’s heritage.
Firecatcher is not a portrait of a person, but of a force: the one who cradles the flame without being consumed. She catches fire—not to be destroyed, but to bear it forward.
Mixed media on canvas, 12 x 12 x 1.5 in
$750
