And love her, simply because she is

Acrylic on torchon paper, 50 × 70 cm, 2009. The work is in Ukraine.

From the series «Limits of Permits» (solo exhibition, Kyiv, 2010). Two works conceived as a pair of opposites, almost a diptych: one woman is nude, the other is in a hijab. The pair to this work — «Love in a woman the dream and the secret…».

The title of each work is a line from the poem that accompanied the series:

Love a woman for the sin she carried out of paradise,
not because she cooks and washes better than anyone.
Love a woman for the sadness she hides from you,
for the way the weight of troubles lightens when she is near.
Love a woman for her mind, both great and modest,
for the sound of children’s laughter at dawn in your home.
Love a woman for the night she gives you,
and for her wish to help when you are deathly tired.
Love a woman for the flattery that caresses your ears,
and for heaven’s priceless gift — patiently listening to sarcasm.
Love in a woman the dream and the intriguing secret.
Do not belittle beauty with a reproach dropped by chance.
Love in a woman her protest, as a victor loves the weak.
And simply because she is yours — love her!