Mom and Dad

Dimensions: 46.97 H × 24.29 W in
Medium: Gouache
Year: 2026

A portrait of my parents, whom I now see only through the screen of a phone — an image of closeness transformed by distance into a digital presence.

This work is dedicated to my parents, whom I have not seen in person for five years. Because of my emigration, I have not been able to return to Russia, and today our encounters take place only through the screen of a phone. I therefore intentionally preserved the format of the image as if it were a screenshot from a video call. My parents are lying together on a bed, talking and looking into the screen, while the cool glow of the phone illuminates their faces. This is how I see them now — through a small illuminated window that both connects us and reminds me of the distance between us.

Over time, I have begun to notice that I am gradually forgetting the feeling of their physical presence — their closeness, the space around them, the simple feeling of being in the same room. Between us there is now a screen, and this work became an attempt to capture this strange new state of closeness through distance.

The painting is executed in gouache on gray paper. I intentionally focused most of my attention on the faces, while the surroundings and background are rendered more formally and in a simplified manner. It was important for me to preserve the emotional tension in their expressions and gazes — their love, concern, and anxiety for me and my daughter. The gray paper and the limited space of the composition reinforce a sense of silence, distance, and the fragile connection that nevertheless continues to exist between us.