Facing close death takes courage, but so is facing life. “Memento vitae”: remember about life and not forget to live while you are alive.

Tetiana Chorna's military jewelry collections, united by a single meaning and a single name “Memento Vitae”, talk about how to live in the midst of war.

We used to live in peace, yet suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of a brutal war. How do you move on, when there is death and suffering all around? How do you get ready for the unexpected? How do you cope with this reality and stay sane? We started looking for some peace of mind observing nature and re-reading what great people said.

We are from Ukraine.

Yes, we still live in Ukraine and intend to continue living in Ukraine in future.

The Path of Flowers

Inspired by the treatise of Lao Tzu and the Code of Bushido, we understand, you have to accept death to get free from fear. You have to go through mental death. Having accepted the inevitable death, a person can obtain true freedom of will and can move on to a fulfilling life. Without this everlasting fear of the future, without looking back every single second, a person can live today enjoying the moment.

“The Path of Flowers” jewelry collection tells about courage and will to face both life and death. Plants grow even in the most unwelcoming places, competing desert sands and pushing through any ruins to see the sun and bloom, and thus they show us how to survive.

This collection tells us how to live amidst the war. Learn from the flower. Brutality will never win over the tenderness of nature.

This item was created by Tetiana Chorna in collaboration with Volodymyr Yarmusevich, who is currently defending Ukraine on the battlefield.

“Russian Friendship”

We are from Ukraine. Yes, we still live in Ukraine and intend to continue living in Ukraine in future. We live in Ukraine, despite the greatest wish of our neighbor country, Russia, which falsely declares itself our “brother nation”, to erase all that is connected to the people of Ukraine from the face of Earth. We fight, we live, and we believe in a better future, in our future, and we remember the lessons of our past.

We create art from our modernity. The art of here and now. We use new materials and new emotions that appear around us during this war. We document our present state to make it a history we will always remember. “Russian friendship” is one of these things.

“The friendship of the nations” was declared among the main ideological principles of the former Soviet Union, both Ukraine and Russia used to be a part of. This principle proclaimed brotherly relations, extensive cooperation and mutual help between the nations that formed the union. When the union fell apart, Russia had inherited not only Soviet military forces, but also Soviet principles, “the friendship of the nations” was among them. We were raised to believe that this principle is still valid. And now we get to see most clearly what their “friendship” is — a bunch of lies. “Russian friendship” is an attempt to dominate with power, to devastate our land and kill the people of Ukraine. That’s all you have to know about their “friendship”. We are no longer friends and will not be for many years after this war ends with our victory.

“Russian Friendship” breast pin is made of a part of an original fence from a small Ukrainian town. The fence was shot through by russian troops during the “special military operation” (that’s how they call this war) in March 2022.

Ruined dreams

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Dreams are more powerful than reality. They are a higher reality. A dream is the soul of existence. Without dreams, life loses meaning, colors, poetics, and becomes unbearable and dull. These rings tell us the story of the beauty and power of dreams, which can easily be destroyed. Destroyed by words, disbelief, despair, war…

This item was created by Tetiana Chorna in collaboration with Ivan Hrygoriev.

Miracle of the Gorgons

"Miracle of the Gorgons" - a fresh perspective on the story of Medusa Gorgon, the ancient goddess who turned enemies into stone. She became a victim of sexual violence, then a victim of mirror and sword, but remained in people's memory as a symbol of protection.

This is a story of the ancient goddess of protection who turned her enemies to stone. Slayed by the mirror and the sword, she yet remained the symbol of resistance. But what if she came back to life? What if she lives again as fresh and pure as an early spring?

We thought of this trying to overcome our fears and sorrows, brought by the war. Ukraine is suffering and bleeding, and yet it bravely resists and fiercely lives. We overcome our fears and doubts, and slowly learn to live in the reality of brutal war. We grow through it like seeds that push through burnt down ruins to see the sun. One day we shall prevail, our wounded land will be healed, and our souls will be cured.

Our story tells about the Gorgon who survives. Her snakes are first turned into tiny maggots that heal her wounds. And later they take the form of silver flowers that gently cover the battlefield. Flowers bring joy and demonstrate the greatest miracle of nature — it’s rebirth. The Gorgon is alive again. She wears her flowers in her hair along with tiny pieces of modern weapons. These are her jewels of experience weaved into her will to live.