About

“Someone Prays for You” is a collaborative photo series by Ukrainian-Canadian artist Taras Polataiko, which showcases the works of elderly Ukrainians from the city of Chernivtsi. Russia’s recent re-invasion of Ukraine has spurred mass mobilization across Ukraine, with everyone helping however they can. In this spirit, elderly Ukrainians are volunteering their art (embroideries, ceramics) to be photographed as part of a fundraiser for civilian defenders on the front lines. Proceeds of the prints will go to both the needs of civilian defenders, as well as the elderly artists who volunteered their works.

The name of the fundraiser is taken from a poem entitled “The Mother” from Ukrainian poet Halyna Kruk, which describes a mother praying for her son fighting in Eastern Ukraine:

someone stands between you and death — but
who knows how much more my heart can stand —
where you are, it’s so important
someone prays for you
even with their own words
even if they don’t clasp their hands and kneel

plucking the stems off strawberries from the garden
I recall how I scolded you when you were small
for squashing the berries before they ripened

my heart whispers: Death, he hasn’t ripened yet
he’s still green, nothing in his life has been
sweeter than unwashed strawberries
I beg you: oh God, don’t place him at the front,
please don’t rain rockets down on him, oh God,
I don’t even know what a rocket looks like,
my son, I can’t picture the war even to myself

Translated by Sibelan Forrester

Update: Since the initial launch of Someone Prays for You, artists Janet Cardiff, Stanislav Turina, David Blatherwick, Angela Andorrer Violetta Oliinyk, Michael Allgoewer, Denise Hawrysio, Germaine Koh, Halyna Regenbogen, and Jane Prophet have generously donated their works to help fundraise for our civilian defenders. As we continue this project, we hope to collaborate with more artists in the fight against Russian aggression.