Marina Leonteva — Placenta 2025, Painting
Placenta
2025, Tempera on canvas, 56×34 cm
The work is an attempt to gather home-like warmth from fragments and remnants. The oval form refers to a womb — a tranquil and nourishing place.

At the ground layer lies calligraphy, a mantra that prays for home. Processing migration and learning a new culture, I found myself in an endless search, both defining and proving my own identity. The colorful layers of the work are flower- field-like — a trick and a reminder of a safe space, a refuge. They becalm, fill with vitality, and give strength to resist and to stay sincere.

My materials are soft, but they speak of sharp things: loss, exile, tenderness under pressure. I want to crack reality tunnels, and let the viewer encounter something sincere from an unknown perspective, feel warmth in their palms and realize the silent, unbreakable force of sincerity.

Marina Leonteva