The series of appliqué works "The Changing Space" marked a transition for Maria Platsko from linear forms to a three-dimensional perception of the surrounding world. These works continue the artist's reflections on the creative methods of Karl Zvirynsky, Volodymyr Loboda, and Henri Matisse — the pursuit of a perfect experiment, an intuitive approach, and a full transition into a new form.

"Everything that existed before the full-scale war was erased, cut off; there was a sense of detachment," Maria recalls about the beginning of the series. Figurative sculpture no longer captured the emotional state, did not help understand the place where one was, and did not reveal the invisible connections that shape the environment. The world, forever changed, demanded a new form, language, and type of thinking.

The reality became so saturated that it seemed there was no room for imagination. However, the need to express thoughts did not disappear. How to connect and hold this shifting space? Is it possible, amid explosions, flashes, and flickers, to find an artistic form for the unspeakable?

Maria Platsko began to work with appliqué as a sculptural relief: planes in space overlap or intersect, creating tension and hierarchy between them. Emotions and sensations embodied in abstract forms acquire character in the comparison of colors. Without complicating the subjects, the artist allowed the compositions to move from the plane into the changing space.

Oleksandra Kushchenko