Irina Barko
2024
Oil and acrylic on canvas
40 x 40 cm 
The painting explores the acceptance of both oneself and others. In this work, the young woman does not struggle against chaos; instead, she wraps it in a tender embrace, as if cradling something deeply personal and fragile. Yet, a lingering question remains: is she embracing her own inner world, or the universe of another?
The multicolored shapes remind us that, to those around us, we often appear as a collection of incomprehensible and fragmented details. And yet, it is precisely tenderness, love, and kindness that can unite these fragments into a coherent whole. The candy appears as a symbol of childlike sincerity and simple joy—a silent reminder that sweet embraces are, ultimately, stronger than chaos.