Ballad of the Sunflower Patch, SH

🌻 “Ballad of the Sunflower” is a collection of embroidered patches created for Ukraine’s Independence Day.

The sunflower is a symbol we are so attached to, though we do not always understand its depth.

At the beginning of the 20th century, artists such as Narbut, Zhuk, and Krychevskyi actively introduced the image of the sunflower into Ukrainian art. At that time, it was a kind of bohemian flower used for photo shoots and to create portraits of noble ladies. Later, the sunflower became a symbol of Ukrainian fields, an observer of numerous events — from joyful to tragic pages of our existence.

“Ballad of the Sunflower” tells us that the sunflower is a witness to our history. The Ilovaisk tragedy of 2014, the downing of Malaysian airliner Flight MH17 in 2014 — these flowers saw everything that happened.

As Ivan Drach wrote: “To become a sunflower forever.” And may this symbol remain in our hearts forever.