Jay Bernadot is a military artist, glitch artist, and techspressionist from Kharkiv. He works with his own 15-year archive of travel photography. His works have been featured in group exhibitions in Kyiv, Budapest, Melbourne, and São Paulo.

Work <malanka/motanka>

Digital print on OSB

Context of the work:

A self-portrait wearing a Malanka ritual mask, taken in 2019, is combined with a photograph of a motanka doll found near an abandoned house in the Kharkiv region in 2025. The image is complemented by ornaments from traditional Slobozhanshchyna embroidery.

Description of the work:

The work explores a point of balance between the past and the future, between the threat of destruction and the preservation of the continuity of life within national memory. It is a form of digital folklore emerging on a historical frontier — a ritual sigil of protection against the daily devastation of an existential war.