My art is inseparable from the coping after survival and from the gesture and actions of healing and from the love of animals. These transformations have creative potential. Because traumas must be transformed into steps of community building, common development and connection.
In 2003, I obtained my first degree (BA) in teaching with a minor in music. I earned my second degree, an MA, in pedagogy and Hungarian literature in 2008. I’ve been writing poems since 2010.
The post-communist Hungary, where I was born and which is now becoming a competitive authoritarian system, restricts artists' self-expression and existential safety in many ways. As a result, I lost my connection to art for almost a decade and a half. For a long time, I worked with the rehabilitation of traumatized dogs. In January 2024, my husband and I emigrated to Finland.
Since then, I have been teaching myself to draw and paint. The endless pine forests, exploring the archipelago, and the atmosphere of the harbors fill me with joy. I want to leave as small ecological footprint as possible, even in my creative work. That's why oil pastels and water-soluble paints appeal to me.
It is important to support the abused so that they can become survivors from victims. It is important that they have autonomy and a future. It is important that everyone has their own dignified life.
That's why my vision is to define the pieces of reality, to put them in context, to help us face them. My vision is a society where discourse on human rights is unnecessary because free participation, choice of profession, security, equality, and work-based wages free from discrimination are fundamental and integral parts of public thinking.
The more space we give to creation and the thinking that goes with it, the more people will find words and ways to express their emotions and experiences. They will be able to broaden their horizons and demonstrate their values. Belonging to a community gives joy. Art provides affirmation, friendships and a supportive atmosphere that relieves loneliness. We all want to belong to others. We want recognition. A life full of dignity and opportunities.
I think these are the building blocks of healthy personality development and, indirectly, of societies becoming adults and responsible. I would like to encourage and support my fellow women by sharing my story. To put the importance of women's and animal rights into discourse.
Where the desert ends
I often long for color. When I was a little kid, I decided that when I grew up, everything in my house would be colorful.
As a result of a long process, I find myself thinking more and more often about connecting lovingly with my former childhood self. Through serious self-awareness work, I am increasingly allowing my creative ideas to come freely to fruition. This also means depicting the patterns and shapes I drew as a child without changing them, as an adult.
It is important for me to accept my own imperfections so that I do not blame others for their imperfections. To do this, I must acknowledge the importance of my childhood designs and ideas.
I often recognize that I am still influenced by the mannered and styleless elements I saw in my deeply impoverished childhood environment, and which weighed heavily on me as a young adult in the education system of a country that never made it to Europe. These elements dull and distance me from my lively and creative self. When I get rid of one of these elements, I feel like everything comes alive. The desert ends.