A century has passed, and we are once again in a struggle against our eternal
enemy. An enemy who finds the very fact of our existence intolerable. It thrives
on the desire to destroy our culture and erase every distinction of our path.
Our call for freedom is foreign and incomprehensible to it.
This enemy once again sows discord among us. It is convinced that the outcome is
inevitable—just as it was a hundred years ago. But we have changed. Today, we
have found strength in unity. Now, it is within our power to break the cycle of
history.
The foundation of the collaboration was a shared understanding of the power of
our heritage and its influence on future generations. A belief that building a
strong state is impossible without a deep knowledge of its roots. Thus, despite
being vastly different in style, we found common ground in our values. We united
to tell the story of the centuries-long journey of the Ukrainian people through
forms and patterns.
Embroidery begins with defining borders, where there is a center and an edge. We
honor the point on the map where the story of our homeland began.
From the grandeur of Kyivan Rus to the heroic Cossacks and national liberation
wars—a path of 300 years of oppression, but also 300 years of hope.
The voices of the first autonomists during the emergence of the Ukrainian
revolution. Coups, discord, powerful enemies—and as a result, statehood lost for
a long time. Yet today, we look back on these events with gratitude. They became
the foundation that made a return to bondage impossible.
On the shirts, we embroidered a map of the Chyhyryn Cold Ravine (Kholodnyi
Yar)—one of the most vivid chapters of Ukraine's liberation struggle. This vast
system of ravines, stretching 250 kilometers, holds the memory of uprisings
spanning several centuries. It preserves the legacy of Maksym Zalizniak, Ivan
Gonta, the Chuchupak brothers, and Otaman Zavhorodnii. It was here that the
slogan "Freedom for Ukraine—or death" was born. This very place inspired Taras
Shevchenko to dedicate his poem "Haidamaky" and his verse "Kholodnyi Yar":
"...For on the day of joy above you
Justice shall prevail.
And a new fire shall blow
From Kholodnyi Yar."
We hear the call echoing through the centuries. It guides us from the heroic past of our ancestors through the present, inspiring future generations. Inspiring them to protect, cherish, and embody this dream of a free Ukraine.