Alena (pronounced as ‘A-lyo-na’) means ‘shining light’ from an ancient Slavic language. Makes me feel warmer while being based in close to my heart Edinburgh, Scotland.
My practice comes from a place of constant transition. From leaving home, moving between countries and cultures, exploring languages, navigating social norms and learning to notice the small emotional shifts that carry us through rupture. I work across installation, photography, printmaking, moving image and sculptural drawing to explore themes of memory, change, alternate realities, reason and passion, belonging, and the quiet moments where identity rebuilds itself. Much of my work is shaped by listening to others, in particular people who experience massive turbulence in their lives, either by choice or force as they mirror parts of my own. Those stories nourish my curiosity to explore what’s going on somewhere between different worlds of Behavioral Science, philosophy and contemporary spirituality.
I’m drawn to fragile, often found materials like glass, metal and wire because they echo that tension between vulnerability and resilience. Photography recently opened a new way for me to process fear, uncertainty and the moments that transform us without warning. Whether I’m working alone or alongside a community, I keep returning to the same questions: what breaks us, what remains afterwards, and how do we piece ourselves back together?
I strongly believe in art as a powerful tool that we can use to drive social change, rebuild trust, and infuse optimism into our ordinary lives. This inspired me to establish Abandoned Artists CIC as a platform to support displaced and refugee artists in Scotland. Over the last few years I have developed meaningful connections with creative and cultural organisations including , National Galleries of Scotland, Art in Healthcare, Edinburgh Royal Lyceum Theatre, Scottish Design Exchange (SDX), Custom House Galleries, The Welcoming, Life with Art and Association of Ukrainians in Scotland (AUGB) to bring numerous public art projects to life.