From the Tatarstan Series. A self-portrait from the Republic of Tatarstan. A fantasy landscape of flowers springs from a pooling rainwater. What I wished my reality to be.

  
The umbrella carries many meanings throughout Asia. There are martial arts forms that use the umbrella for defense. The parasol is one of the eight sacred symbols of the Ashtamangala. In this painting, the umbrella evokes all the protections and wards off evil.

  
2014 marked my first trip to Vitaliy's mother in Tatarstan. The Maiden Revolution had just disrupted Yanukovych 's government in the Ukraine. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula after invading it. I was frequently mistaken for a Ukrainian refugee at this time. Vitaliy forbade me to speak English in public.

  
2014 was also the year of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. How far will passive resistance take us? In this self-portrait, I carry my yellow umbrella, my safe house. My imagination creates the flowers that bloom, as walk through a colorful landscape of my own creation. The existing reality was grey.

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With my Yellow Umbrella