Marichka Sokulska
Oil on canvas
25x30cm
"I hate the cold - my nose gets so cold! Recently I lost my mittins. Has anyone seen them? They are kind of grey, sad-looking, homeless?"
Marichka Sokulska
"I was born in a an interesting family. I was lucky, and I say this without irony. My father was a poet - during the Soviet era it was predictable what was to happen to him.
When I was 5 years old (in 1980) I remember police had arrived with a search warrant. For Ivan Sokulskii (my father), it meant the start of his second sentence - which was 10 years of strict regime and 5 years of exile. He was accused of anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda - gaining the title of 'extremely dangerous recidivist' which made him very respected in certain circles .
If there ever was a chance for a person to return to freedom after serving term with such title as his, that person had no chance of finding any work at all, let alone to befitting his skills. You would hardly stand a chance to get a job as a sweeper.
My father was even less lucky, they (the state) managed to give him sentences to serve all the way until Perestroika. He was released in the summer1988. Over all, the 13 years of camps took its toll on him and in 1992 Ivan Sokulski died and only on the 40th day after his death [note: the day of release and departure of the soul from the body in Christian religion] as a bad joke, the official statement revoking his status as a political prisoner arrived.
All this time we lived with my mother and communicated in a small circle of friends - those who was not afraid to run into 'problems' with the state, or those who already had them.
We lived in a large industrial city of Dnepropetrovsk. There is a factory there where sputniks (satellites) are designed and put together. So during Soviet times the city was closed to the foreigners. I grew up there then moved to Kiev three years ago.
I managed to finish my studies in the History, and worked as a journalist for 'Radio Liberty'. Now I am a correspondent for the Opposition newspaper 'Without Censorship'
All-in-all I just get on with life, paint, read - everything is OK. Sometimes things do get much worse though. For example, Ulyana tells me 'Write me few words, just a couple of words about your self...'. Oh God what can I write about myself. To tell you the truth I know nothing about myself - that's why I find living so fascinating and exiting. But apart from that I am strong and happy, although I feel sometimes like I would like to have some milk to drink.
I like Paradjanov (actor). I hate the cold - my nose gets so cold! Recently
I lost my mittins. Has anyone seen them? They are kind of grey, sad-looking,
homeless? I have a feeling they may have run away and now travelling around
the world. If you see them and they look happy don't catch them, let them
travel on.
"