Artist statement

Hélène Litorelle is a Ukrainian artist who works with the medium of collage. She creates imagery based on newspaper columns, sorts the information from different aspects of the news, then reinterprets through an associative image and creates two dimensional works and objects.

Helene’s practice centers on exploring the ways we translate dreams and visions into language, a process ingrained in us from our earliest years. She is fascinated by how images and words evolve into symbols that transcend the personal, becoming shared markers within our cultural and human landscapes.

However, as our society grapples with the chaos of illness, disasters, and other crises, her work probes the growing chasm between us and the natural world. To comfort this disconnection, she uses symbols as vessels, wrapping today’s news and events within these motifs. This approach is an invitation for viewers to reflect on the current state of our existence, urging a deeper contemplation of our relationship with nature and the urgent need to realign with it.

2022

Broken dreams. War diary from the Ukrainian shelter

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2022

Broken dreams. War diary from the Ukrainian shelter

Dedicated to the days that I had been spending during the war in Ukraine, hiding in one of Kyiv’s bomb shelters with my little son. In my works, I have expressed my feelings on paper and have put the words from the news into drawings of memories that were fixed in my memory like flashbacks.

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2022

Broken dreams. War diary from the Ukrainian shelter

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2022

The Butterfly

Symbolizes death, rebirth and transformation, the slow path of Ukrainians through tragedy and pain to the desired freedom.

83x83x3,3 cm, collage, newspaper on paper

2022

Nuclear strike: destruction vs life

The work is devoted to threats of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons. When the first shock after the dire predictions wears off, we realize that the fear of death and the hypothetical absence of the future is being replaced by a real lust for life. A combination of Eros(according to the teachings of Sigmund Freud – sexual desire, which leads to reproduction, and therefore to the saving of life) and Thanatos (the urge to the primary, inorganic state, death) clearly demonstrates the connection of opposites, the paired dance of antagonistic instincts, present in each of us. In my artwork, I want to show that someone’s plans for the destruction of our world are met with strong resistance due to the passionate desire of this world to continue its existence.

29,7x42 cm, collage, newspaper on paper

2022

Forbidden fruit

In this work, I highlight the demarche of creation against the creator, a vivid symbol of which is the fall of the first people since they tasted the forbidden fruit. For thousands of years, some have given themselves unlimited rights to decide the destinies of others and have threatened the world in response to attempts to stop them. Therefore, in my work, I placed the image of a burning Crimean bridge as a symbol of Russia’s arbitrary occupation of Ukraine on the trunk of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Contrasting the Death with Life, destruction with creation in this work, I want to say that humanity must unite for a common goal: to protect life on Earth by taking from the followers of the Devil what belongs only to God.

29,7x42 cm, collage, newspaper on paper

2022

Non-nuclear winter

As children, we painstakingly cut snowflakes out of white paper and glued them to the windows to create a New Year’s mood in the home. The artwork is a reflection of the traditions of the New Year and Christmas holidays, with self-made snow-white decor, and at the same time - shades of bloody red and tragic black were added to the fairy whiteness of the snowflakes. And yet, despite the severe trials and the threat of nuclear war in the modern world, we sincerely want to believe that the victorious spring will come. That is why my snowflakes are collected in a bouquet that resembles a bouquet of spring flowers.

29,7x42 cm, collage, newspaper on paper

2023

Rushnyk

I had no holidays...For Ukrainians, the rushnyk has an exceptional ritual and ceremonial meaning, it is an attribute of most important solemn events and celebrations from birth to death. I created my rushnyk with the help of newspaper columns, which talk about two wars - the First World War of 1914-1918 and the current war of Russia against Ukraine, which began in 2014 and became full-scale in 2022. I turned to the topic of these two wars, because on their example I felt the cyclical nature of history: the chronicles of my ancestors on the paternal line during the First World War ceased to be something long past, but as if they came to life, because the war also broke into my life. The new war that few could imagine in Europe in the21st century.

240х45 cm, newspaper on paper

On my rushnyk, I combined newspaper columns with a visual representation of various embroidery techniques and ornaments. The source of my inspiration was the ancient rushnyks of Kyiv, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The tree of life appeared on my rushnyk as a symbol of the certainty that the Ukrainian nation existed, exists and will exist despite the fact that Russia is trying to prevent it. Our culture, our traditions are indestructible, we will cherish them and preserve them for future generations.

Rozhanytsy - ancient Slavic femaledeities; they personified fertility, and they were revered precisely as patrons of procreation. On my rushnyk, Rozhanytsa is “armed” with machine guns wrapped in wavy lines of the Universe, she came to his defense. Above the head of the deity is the star as a talisman against evil and diseases, as a countermeasure against the feeling of powerlessness, which has a detrimental effect on the ability to defend oneself. My work is entitled: “I had no holidays...”. Due to the full-scale invasion of Russia on February 24, 2022, for the second year in Ukraine, holidays that used to be public holidays are not celebrated in Ukraine: now Ukrainians have to work hard for victory.

2023

The Doll-motanka

Homemade Ukrainian doll-motanka is one of the oldest authentic toys, which personified the connection between generations, was a talisman for the whole family and used in festive rites. I used newspaper columns instead of fabric to create my motanka. In this way, I wanted to especially emphasize the connection between the ancient Ukrainian doll and the Ukrainian present, which, because of the war, has been in the world news for more than a year.

2022

Divine imprint of Seal of God

The work consists of two parts. The first part is the graffiti, depicting the Mother of God with the newborn Jesus. The graffiti has been created on the site of the demolished building. Christ began his earthly life in order to end it tragically - int he name of the victory of Good over Evil. Only two colors are used in the graffiti -blue and yellow, the colors of the national flag of Ukraine, which, thanks to its heroic resistance to Russian aggression, personifies Good fighting Evil now. The white dove in the second work is a symbol of the peace in the hand of the Savior. In this way, I have depicted our belief that the divine will ultimately save the earthly.

70x100x3 cm, collage with a graffiti pattern

2022

2022

News about Belarus

Hélène Litorelle, depicts world news on her products with the help of archetypal images of animals.Through symbolism, the designer pushes us to think about what is happening on the planet. Our today’s reality is “encrypted”, descended from the pages of «The New York Times», «The Times», «Le Monde». So, the COVID-19 pandemic is symbolized by the fierce Tiger; in itself, this animal can mean both the triumph of Evil (death) and Good (life) – we just have to expect the outcome of the battle of mankind with the dangerous virus. The print also reflects the notorious world fires of recent years: the fire in the forests of Australia, which resulted in the picture as the national symbol of this country, the Kangaroo, and the fire in Notre Dame de Paris, indicated by the Lily flower – the symbol of Christianity and the Mother of God, spiritual purity and hope...

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2022

News about COVID-19

Political and economic developments did not go unnoticed in the collage: Brexit is personified by two Crows in flight, striving to clash with each other – two protesters with different aspirations. And stock quotes on the stock exchange appear in the image of a Crocodile: this animal has been considered a symbol of hypocrisy since the Middle Ages, as we know from the phraseological unit “crocodile tears”.The result of the joint work of the brands irAro and Hélène Litorelle will become the pearl of the girls’ wardrobe. Because these girls with an active lifestyle keep their finger on the pulse not only of the life rhythm of the metropolis, but of the world as a whole.

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2022

Crocodile tears

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2022

Australian kangaroo

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2022

Funny monkeys

21x29,7 cm, newspaper on paper

2025

Lost paradise

Dimensions vary

2025

Lost paradise

In this project, I explore humanity’s relationship with the environment through the biblical archetypes of Adam and Eve and Carl Gustav Jung’s concept of the “Self.” Drawing on the idea of an original human wholeness—later divided into masculine and feminine principles—I reflect on how the loss of inner balance is mirrored in humanity’s destructive relationship with nature. Lost Paradise invites reflection on the contrast between the world at the moment of creation and its present state, shaped by war, ecological destruction, and alienation. Using recycled fabric and plastic, I create mosaic-like figures of the first humans in a devastated landscape, emphasizing both fragility and interdependence.

Dimensions vary

2025

Lost paradise

Central motifs, such as the snake emerging from Adam’s eye and his position on Eve’s body, symbolize awakening, transformation, and thememory of an original unity.

The work calls for a restoration of harmony—between mind and body, masculine and feminine, and humanity and nature—understanding transformation not as punishment, but as a necessary step toward responsibility and renewed balance.

Helen Panteleienko / Helene Litorelle

born in Kharkiv (Ukraine), based in Vienna (Austria)

Education

2009 – The Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, International Economic
2023 – Analytical Psychology and the Basics of Modern Psycho-analysis

Exhibitions

2026

Prolet.Air, Vienna, Austria – Figure Out (Independent Space Index Festival, group exhibition)
Prolet.Air, Vienna, Austria – Gib Acht (group exhibition)

2024

Office Ukraine, Exhibit Gallery, Vienna, Austria – Liutyi / Лютий / February (group exhibition)
Vienna, Austria – 1 Gram of Life (group exhibition)
Rakvere Gallery, Rakvere, Estonia – Milk and Blood (group exhibition)
LOT, Vienna, Austria – Myt: Where Past Meets Present (performative exhibition)

2023