DepartmentEurope

Господиня-берегиня (Lady of the House)

NamePainted shell casing

Artist Oksana Doroshenko (Ukrainian, born 1983)

CultureUkrainian

Date2024

Place madeKherson, Ukraine, Europe

MediumShell casings, acrylic paint

Dimensions6 × 1 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (15.24 × 3.175 × 3.175 cm)

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, Gift of Oksana Doroshenko, IFAF Collection, FA.2025.12.4

Object numberFA.2025.12.4

Collections

New Acquisitions: The Gift of Folk Art

Description“After another sleepless night due to shelling, Lady of the House appeared to me,” Doroshenko writes. “She is a woman donning a vyshyvanka (traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt) as she creates a motanka (talisman doll) for protection from enemies.”

Born in Kherson, Doroshenko continues to witness the ongoing devastation of her city. A mother of two, her children’s school was destroyed by a Russian airstrike in 2023. “Through agony and despair, we create,” says the artist. “By painting bright flowers and patterns on shell casings, we tell the world that we remain hopeful for a prospering Ukraine.”