Independent New York 2024

Voloshyn Gallery proudly presents Sana Shahmuradova Tanska’s solo exhibition at Independent New York 2024.

Sana Shakhmuradova Tanska (b. 1996) is an artist from Odesa, Ukraine, who works in painting and drawing. In her work, she explores her roots and complex identity, using trauma as a method of communicating with her ancestors. In her practice, she mostly uses oil paint on different surfaces, such as wood, burlap, and canvas. In her recent works, Sana Shahmuradova Tanska analyzes the context of her native land, where often one family’s story shows the historical dynamics of the people as a whole, arguing that time moves in circles, not linearly: with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, generational traumas are revived, and the framework scenarios of history do not change.

Sana's paintings address the history and current state of the southern region of Ukraine, in particular the Black Sea. The Black Sea has been pivotal in uniting crucial historical periods of Ukraine, and remains strategically significant today, despite suffering from major environmental impacts. Based on research from the surrounding area of her hometown of Odesa and the Odesa catacombs, the artist recreates the unseen natural processes that underlie non-obvious cause-and-effect relationships, as well as the elusive movement of time that defies measurement. Elaborating on the theme of time, fate and human life, Sana Shahmuradova is inspired by the paradoxical phenomenon of limestone, which is constantly washed away by the sea, but still retains shells that are 6 million years old. Ancient shells and small holes in the limestone remind us of the stories of past inhabitants who remained in the shadows. Traces of their life are present in limestone dams and caves, giving us hope that something can survive despite constant destruction.