“At all times, people have believed in otherworldly forces and creatures that they believed had an impact on their everyday life and life in general. Ukrainian demonology has many creatures that our ancestors believed in several centuries ago. The most popular ones are still part of folklore, and their images are often used in movies, cartoons, and books. But for the people of that time, they were not part of mythology, although in some villages eyewitness accounts of otherworldly beings have been preserved, for example, from grandmothers or parents, and some people continue to believe in them.
In the project, I want to explore the diversity of the otherworldly universe and translate it into the modern world. The photographs themselves are based more on feelings than on the actual description of the creatures described in folklore. However, it is impossible to assert a true image, because all the stories, stories that are passed down from generation to generation, demonological images look similar but different at the same time.
The more you delve into the history of our ancestors, the more you can see strange images and figures in everyday life, and can we deny their existence?”
About the author: Mariia Horshkova (b. 1997) is a photographer living in Nikolaev. She studied at art school MYPH. She participated in group exhibitions in Ukraine and Europe, published in Austrian magazine “Photocult” and magazine “Ukrainian and Artistic Culture”, which is published in Ukraine specifically for the US. Several works are in private collections in Ukraine and Israel. Also worked as a journalist and war correspondent. IG: www.instagram.com/mariana_gorshkova/
