Polina Raiko does not hold an art degree. All her artistic education was painting classes at school. There was no TV in her house and, probably, this is what allowed her to keep her incredible sincerity and purity in her art, as the source for it was the world around her and her own memories, not the TV screen. “I had to paint the walls anyway, so I thought: why not to try painting something to amuse myself,” the artist remembered.
Raiko was eager to hold excursions around her house, which usually begin in the yard. She liked to tell people about a couple of white birds on the fence and a black crow, which kidnapped their nestlings. This subject is repeated in the house and in the summer kitchen. Art critics believe that these images are subconscious allegories, with the help of which the artist put her suffering on the walls: she lost two kids and a husband. That is why Raiko’s art was an art of escape from the horrors of everyday life, one of “moving” to a better world.
The artist did not forget about her relatives and close ones. On the walls and ceilings one can see the relatives painted together with the angels, the peacocks in the water, and the fish flying in the sky among the clouds. One of the largest compositions is in the living room. It shows four women: the artist herself and her three sisters. They are swinging on crescents and have snow-white angel wings.
The image system of the wall painting incredibly combines Christian, pagan and… Soviet symbols. For example, Raiko painted herself with angel wings in a self-portrait, and there are two white storks near her. A stork is a symbol of the goddess Zoria, a symbol of respect towards parents, family welfare, happiness and motherland. The stork is nearly a holy bird for Ukrainians and it is a symbol of the children, family happiness, loyalty and faithfulness in love. Probably, Raiko knew some of these superstitions as she painted her kids near her image. There is a red pentagonal star above the artist’s head. This symbol, aside its ancient origin, is strongly associated with the USSR.
These mixtures are completely intuitional. The artist never thought about the compatibility of symbols: she called her vocation to art God’s gift for all her sufferings and difficult life.
Not only one wall or room is painted in Raiko’s house. Her paintings are everywhere. The ceilings are particularly impressive. How could an elderly woman paint all that? Even she was surprised that after a night of painting nothing hurt.
The tradition to paint with pentaftal enamel, which is usually used for painting floors, windows and doors, was established by chance. First, Polina used the remains of the paint after painting her floors or fence. And only gradually did she begin selecting colors. When in January 2004 the artists from Kherson brought brushes and canvas to Polina so that she could go beyond the walls and ceilings of the house, the neighbors said that she passed away — on January 15…
On one of the walls Polina painted The Road to Heaven. Probably, the artist copied it from an Easter postcard but there is no evidence of this. After the artist’s death a note on “how to find a road to heaven” was found on a garage gate. Raiko did not try to follow the rules of composition. She never wanted to sell her works. She painted because she could not do otherwise.
