The war changed the lives of millions of Ukrainians – forcing them to leave their homes, jobs and dreams. For artist Serhiy Zuban from Siverskodonetsk, it became the starting point for a new life – far from his hometown.
In 2022, he and his wife moved to Lynovytsia, in Chernihiv Region. At the time, the couple hoped it would be temporary – just for a few weeks. But years have passed, and they are still here.
In Siverskodonetsk, Serhiy painted and dreamed of a personal exhibition. Fleeing the war, he was able to take only a few paintings with him - with the hope of returning soon.
“We studied at the Luhansk Art School, there was a painting department. Diploma - teacher of drawing and drawing,” — Serhiy Zuban, painter, artist.
Currently, in Lynivytsia, the artist is painting the Holy Assumption Church - one of the first in the Chernihiv region to get rid of the Moscow yoke in September 2022.
Before the work began, the walls of the temple were painted in pink and blue colors, and in some places the plaster had already crumbled.
"It all started with the fact that the plaster was hanging like that under the windows, and the priest was afraid that it would fall on someone's head, the pieces were so big. It was scary. That's why they decided to do the renovation: putty and paint. And then they built the scaffolding like this," — Serhiy Zuban, painter, artist.
"We had to make repairs, repaint the walls and put things in order. Because such pink walls are not very good. And the priest really wanted it too, really. And we supported him, and the parishioners supported him. But he understood that it was one thing to just paint the walls, and another thing to do a mural," — Natalia Zuban, craftswoman.
Serhiy began work in August, and in December he completed the painting of the central part of the temple.
“There were scaffoldings over 12 meters high. And as soon as the process started, they chose a topic, I was like, ‘I’ll help you, because I can draw too.’ And you climbed 3-4 meters and said, ‘Oh, no, I changed my mind about climbing there.’ You don’t have enough courage. It’s such a lot of work: climbing up and down, and then holding this topic and drawing. Because when you climb up there, it’s not like up there, it’s different, the proportions are distorted,” — Natalia Zuban, craftswoman.
The concept of the painting has deep symbolism. It is inspired by the image of towels, which in Ukrainian tradition accompany a person throughout his life.
"The concept of this painting is this. There was such a song. "I cleaned the planet - sent the paths to the forest... and quietly went beyond the border." Frightened children came running... And there is such a phrase... There are no words "died" or "buried", but "the towels flew into the sky". I still remember how they used to bury. Now they lower the coffin on ropes, and before on towels. There were 8-meter towels. 2 towels were definitely needed. They put the coffin in the ground and pull out the towels - "the towels flew into the sky". That's how the towel ornament at the top is like that", - Serhiy Zuban, painter, artist.
Currently, the painting of the left part of the church is underway. In the center of the composition is the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, which symbolizes protection, unity, and hope.
This painting also depicts defining pages of Ukrainian history – from Prince Volodymyr to the last hetman, as well as the modern struggle for freedom: the Maidan and the Ukrainian military.
Serhiy Zuban also restores ancient icons and creates new ones. And despite everything, he dreams of a personal exhibition.
Journalist: Oksana Zamyatina
Cinematographer: Angelina Labuta