Southern Fields

In the Southern Fields animation, the artist plays the role of protagonist, entering a tense yet fluid dialogue with the surrounding landscape. The interaction unfolds as both struggle and dance within a steppe-like setting, as the character questions their own identity, feelings of loss, injustice, and displacement. Confronting invisible forces, he moves through waves of emotional highs and lows emerging from and dissolving into the fields. A deliberate sense of uncertainty and ambiguity runs through these frames, mirroring the fragile and unstable social and political landscape of the artist’s birthplace, Donetsk.

The execution of this artwork was inspired by the liberation of Kherson’s fields — lands seized at the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022 and reclaimed by Ukrainians at the end of that same year.

The video sketch features Vasyl Symonenko’s poerty Степ.

Oleshky sands

Genesis of the Eastern Steppe

Eastern Steppe explores the perpetual rise and decline of cultural and industrial development in the Donetsk region through the prism of human resilience.

The animation dives into challenging period of industrialisation in Donetsk at the end of the 19th century when the Russian Empire consigned this area to Western entrepreneurs. Together, they advanced through the exploitation and suppression of local inhabitants – an oppression intertwined with the ongoing Russian occupation that began in 2014.

The struggle for human life in this region has persisted for over a century, leaving a lasting impact on each new generation. It manifests in homophobia, hatred, and racism that seem unending. This aspect is visualised in the character’s queerness – despite all hardships, they allow their authenticity to thrive.

Soulios

This dreadful and devastating war forces us once again to confront our relationship with Soil, Land, or Zemlia. Looking back through history, we can only recognize its cultural significance as something inevitably tragic. The connection has become so omnipresent that it is nearly impossible to separate land from national identity, or even from human flesh. Zemlia here is deeply and indelibly embedded, soaked in blood and tears — burning, restless, and diabolically alive. It gives, and it takes back.

Dancing with a reed

Dancing with a reed animation portrays the artist’s confrontation with the inevitable. In this poetic narrative, the character engages in a symbolic battle with a reed. Despite all the efforts made by the artist, he ultimately loses the struggle and turns into the plant.

Transforming into the reed itself — a metaphor for surrendering to the inevitable forces of nature.

Blaise Pascal compared the fragility of reeds to that of human beings. In his work titled Pensées, he says, “Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed.” This reflects the idea that humans, despite their intellectual and spiritual capabilities, are physically weak and vulnerable compared to the forces of nature. He says: ‘even water can kill him. But even if the universe were to crush him, man would still be nobler than that which kills him, because he knows that he dies, and he knows the advantage the universe has over him. The universe knows nothing of this.’

In my work, I return to reeds not just for my childhood memory or their poetic symbolism, but because the reeds embody dualities I often explore – nature and domination, fragility and power, fear and safety, beauty and violence.  

My voice is starting to get more comfortable (MVISTGMC) – Pontanemone

Pontanemone animation was a part of “My voice is starting to get more comfortable” exhibition which is a glimpse into the complex theme of what it’s like to experience a gender transition. Today, transgender people are facing massive hate and discrimination, which makes it crucial to give greater attention to this issue. Studies from The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign show that marine species such as anemonefish have the ability to change gender during their lifetime — a natural experience for living beings. With this exhibition we dove into a sea image as a central metaphor: a place that was once our home, then became an unknown and unsafe environment. Through this idea, we tell the story of Gabriel’s and Taras’ time shared between Budapest and Odesa in 2018, when both places were relatively peaceful and safe unlike today, when Hungary enforces anti-transgender laws and Ukraine’s seashore is scattered with mines.

Bio

Taras Tolstikov (b. 1993 in Donetsk, Ukraine) studied architecture at DonDABA, later graduated KNUBA in Kyiv. In 2016, he moved to Budapest to focus on art where he established an art atelier with William Theodoracopulos. In 2017 Taras was invited to open his first solo exhibition at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Budpest, called “Vándorló Experience” which was about displacement. In 2019, Taras opened a solo exhibition titled “Spatial Relations” in Budapest on forces and intensities, people’s relationships and russian invasion of his hometown. Between 2018 and 2020, Taras and William conducted several workshops in Paris, Madrid, Budapest based on concepts from Gilles Deleuze’s book “Logic of Sensation.” Taras participated in the exhibition within Mariupol Theatre Festival “City of Hope – Mariupol” in the end of 2022 in Berlin. In May of 2023 he took part in the group exhibition in Athens called “Social Change in Times of Injustice” showcasing his recent works including first experiments with generative AI art. In April of 2024, he co-curated a photo exhibition for his grandmother Liubov Mykhailovna in Paris called “Mon Jardin Caché Près de Donetsk”. 78 years old Madame personally travelled from Donetsk to Paris for the opening.
In September of the same year Taras exhibited his AI artwork in New York City during Bushwick Open Studios. In March of 2025, together with Sasha they launched vegyeskereskedés, an experimental art project rooted in exploring communities and aimed at bringing a stronger political voice to the Hungarian art scene.

Taras Tolstikov’s practice explores notions of fragility and resilience, as well as the dominant and invasive forces present in both human and natural worlds. His work engages with our experiences of time, memory, and the recurrence of events. Taras often addresses political and social issues, critically examining authoritarian and colonial systems and their impact on societies and local landscapes. His figurative works frequently embrace non-binary forms, challenging societal norms and expectations.