Olha Kobylyanska
Rebel. Self contained. Unbreakable
OLHA KOBYLYANKA, 1863-1942, Bukovina, Ukraine
Kobylyanska wrote about women’s rights and the national identity of Ukraine at a time when its culture, language and heritage were repressed by various colonizing forces.
Kobylyanska used literature to explore themes of freedom and emancipation for women, though arguably her desire for freedom and emancipation extended to her Ukrainian nationhood. In her works it’s often women who embark on a hero’s journey where her protagonists are cultured, emancipated women oppressed in a hostile society. Like Kobylyanska herself, her fictional heroines were determined, principled women, unafraid to question the outdated norms of society, and with clear understanding of what they wanted.
In 1892 Olha Kobylyanska published “Equal Rights of Women” and was one of the founders of the Women’s Association of Bukovyna. In her famous work “Tsarivna” she writes, “To have such freedom so as to be one's own goal! Above all, to work for one's own spirit like a bee; to enrich it, to increase it!
This piece aims to show Kobylyanska as not just a talented writer, but also as a self-contained woman with an unbreakable spirit and strong values. The bright colours and ornaments found in the piece are re-interpreted from the local folklore of her community. The mountains and the waves represent the local landscape in which Kobylyanska created her works.
Artwork by By Daria Hlazatova
