Anna Kovalenko is Ukranian artist living in France since the outbreak of war in her country. She is engaged in artistic and scientific activities at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne.

Since living in France, her research and artistic practice had been devoted to the topic of wartime art, and it had a very emotional impact on her. Feeling that it was time to shift the focus to spirituality, to grounding, to contemplation and the search for harmony, she felt the need to make a pilgrimage to a holy place filled with depth and wisdom. More than ever, she felt that she needed to make a meditative journey where, perhaps, she would be able to touch another depth, to be enlightened to some extent.

Upon finding Last Ship, she responded instantly, believing it was exactly what she needed. For her residency, she proposed to work in two parts.

The first part was a contemplation of her internal processes. These were daily sketches, quick works, written thoughts, noticing her own internal transformations under the influence of the area, her new experience, meditation, and communication with the locals.

The second part consisted of a series of paintings with a contemplation of the surrounding world, of life in a place of spirituality, the history of the area, the ancient temples, the history and experience of the local people.

She imagines her artistic practice as a kind of research, feeling the area and noticing her inner response to the expedition, expressing it in the language of art.