Four Dimensions
On Thursday, 24th February my country was invaded by the Russian army, and everything changed. Although I was lucky enough to be in Kyiv, my life was instantly turned upside down. My new job, my plans, my dreams, everything went down the drain at that moment. People around me always tell me I am an emotionally strong person, but sometimes I am not too sure about that. I’ve overcome many adversities, that’s true, but I wouldn’t define myself as a strong person. I think I am just someone who’s lucky to have a way of escaping reality when it’s necessary. In fact, that’s the truth behind my art. It’s my way of escaping the world when it becomes unbearable.
According to my mom, I started drawing at the age of four. Of course, I can’t remember too many details about it; I remember being surrounded by children in school, constantly drawing to avoid talking, and as a way of dealing with my own insecurities. One of them was my dad’s absence.
As a teenager, I developed an outgoing personality. I was in every school activity and finally became comfortable in my own skin. Eventually, all of that led to landing my first job as an event host at the age of 15. My height, body type, and personality, all worked in my favor to get a job at a modeling agency. It paid well, and there were some memorable moments about it, but eventually, I realized I didn’t belong there. I saw horrible things during that time, from girls being constantly harassed and bullied to hearing stories about rape and blackmail. In fact, it took me years to start trusting men again, and it wasn’t until I was twenty years old that I had my first boyfriend. He was ten years older than me, and I am still very grateful for some of the things he made me realize about myself. He could see beyond my looks and made me much more confident in my artistic skills. In 2014 he passed away during the Maidan Revolution, but I will always remember his sense of humor, his intelligence, and above all, how he made me believe in myself.
Now, in many ways, I am back to square one. I moved to London on March 3rd, and although I can officially call myself a professional artist, I am still second-guessing myself. Being in a new country, knowing that your home country is literally on fire, is not an easy thing. I try to keep busy with work, but sometimes it’s hard to think about all the atrocities in my country, as I sit in front of my computer to create fictional worlds. But I finally came to the conclusion that this has been my therapy. The inspiration behind my recent work has been this horrible war. I didn’t realize it at first, but now that I look back, I can clearly see that the first sketch I made when I left Kyiv already had the answer. It was all about transcending reality.
The day I left Kyiv, there was a young couple in front of me. They were dressed as Batman and Spiderman, traveling with their child, and they never broke character. During the entire trip, they played the part of being superheroes, making jokes and acting silly to keep him distracted during the never-ending ride. In my book, those are real-life superheroes.
So no matter how difficult our circumstances are, there are always ways of transcending our reality. That’s what Four Dimensions represents. There is a Ukrainian Super Hero that I have called X42, dressed in blue and yellow to represent our flag. There are portals that represent our desire to transcend reality, and then there is TemaLux, the alter ego who is able to reach that parallel world.
I’ve been fortunate that I’ve already had a few requests from video game companies to develop these characters and who knows where this will all end. But before doing that, I decided to wear the superhero costume myself and try something different. I am turning Four Dimensions into my first NFT collection, and I will put it out there for the world to see. It’s both exciting and terrifying at the same time. But something tells me this could be a new beginning for me. What if Bob Kane and Bill Binger had the possibility of creating a Batman NFT back then? How much would it be worth now? And how much artistic value would that NFT have at this point?
If you are reading this, it’s because in one way or another, you have shown interest in my work, and I am very grateful for that. I hope Four Dimensions inspires you to transcend your own reality and get over whatever pain and suffering you have in your life.
Sincerely yours,
Heidy
