In an unexpected tangent, the mural to celebrate strength and resiliency outside the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, is rooted in circus animals and magic tricks.
Victoria artist Dillon Lew'chuk painstakingly hand-painted Resilience, Pride and Protection mural – his first public foray on this scale – on the outside of the Douglas Street building.
“I’ve always been trying to weave my family history into the larger Ukrainian family history,” he told the Victoria News.
His great, great grandparents came to Canada in 1902, landing in Halifax and settling in the Prairies, where his great grandfather worked the land before putting the circus skills he brought with him to use. Great-granddad was a magician and a hypnotist. Grandma Nellie a sword swallower, and grandpa a bear tamer.
They travelled the west right into the 1960s. Even while struggling to survive, the family wanted to bring joy to rural towns, Lew'chuk explained.
“My family brought this magic and joy during the hard, difficult times. So I think that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”
He achieved it in this instance with a little help from the Victoria Arts Council and Steps Public Art Residency, a Canadian and social enterprise that fosters vibrant, inclusive communities through public art and creative placemaking.
Lew’chuk learned Steps was looking specifically for queer artists to support on large-scale work. The only requirement, was the artist had to to connect with community and find a building, get the permission and create a plan.
With a lean toward both politics and genealogy in his work, as war continues in Ukraine, Lew’chuk reached out to the centre.
“I took a tour of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre and I think there’s so much more than people realize is going on there,” he said. “They were so excited, and so welcoming and made sure this was the project that would be what it is.”
Lew’chuk first set his sights on the beautiful second-storey library filled with history and cultural memoirs of Ukraine. Getting a “special space” vibe there, he pitched ideas for art in that room. While the board and leaders were impressed, they had something bigger in mind, telling him “we need to be more visible right now.”
A little history added context to their request, he explained. The first time Russia invaded Ukraine, attempts to snuff culture included banning vyshyvanka clothing.
“We feel like if you’re going to do the vyshyvanka-inspired mural, in the confines of the building feels like we’re hiding away from the public, we’re hiding away from Russia,” Lew’chuk recalls them saying.
So, for a couple weeks straight this spring, Lew’chuk found himself hand painting x, after x, after tiny x, referencing the traditional art of cross-stitch embroidery on white linen – finishing just ahead of International Vyshyvanka Day, the third Thursday in May. Wielding the paintbrush became about solidifying himself, as vyshyvanka goes beyond decoration.
“When the person is making the first pierce through the cloth to make that iconic x, they’re supposed to put all of their intention and family legacy and knowledge into it,” he explained. “I felt like when someone does embroidery, it’s very time consuming and you can see that love and labour that was put into it.”
Each pattern encodes generations of symbolism – offering protection, expressing hope and affirming cultural identity.
The povna rozha or eight-pointed star – a powerful symbol of life force and balance – is central to his work, surrounded by klyuchi (Keys), motifs said to guard against negative influences. The vivid yellow and blue palette echoes the Ukrainian flag. Together it represents Resilience, Pride and Protection.
As an emerging artist, Lew’chuk was impressed with the guidance and mentorship Steps offered, providing skills, tools and experience for him going forward. That empowerment proved a pivotal role in his art career. Recently he created a small sculpture with the vyshyvanka at the heart of it that was accepted as one of 53 finalists for the Salt Spring Art Prize.
It also spurred what he hopes will keep him busy next summer, sending out 35 emails to Canadian Ukrainian centres in hopes of spreading vyshyvanka murals across the nation, “to continue the visibility of Ukrainian pride.”
Follow the artist online at instagram.com/dillonlewchukart.
