Daria Zharikova

Conscious Romanticization

In culture, man has always sought to romanticize suffering and struggle. From myths, fairy tales, to modern films, we see the heroization of pain. Here, it is worth remembering Nietzsche with his “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”
This phrase sounds simple and inspiring, but when taken literally, it turns into a trap. It replaces the meaning of life with the illusion that happiness is possible only through sacrifice, and depth appears only from pain. In such a view, a whole layer of experience disappears — exhaustion, trauma, self-pity.

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An inner severity arises, which easily turns into cruelty to oneself. Prolonged or excessive stress does not make you stronger — it exhausts you physically and psychologically, and deprives you of resources.

Such blind faith in trials echoes the “toxic positivity,” where any experience is tried to be presented as beneficial or capitalized on. “Having overcome trauma, you now have valuable experience.” However, sometimes bad things just happen, and honesty consists in allowing pain to exist without pragmatic meaning.

Life is dynamic. Neither permanent happiness nor permanent suffering is possible. The main thing in this movement is balance and the ability to shift one’s own beliefs.
The Christian tradition and Western culture in general have done a lot to shape the idea of ​​suffering as a path of purification. However, in reality, suffering is not the basis of existence, and art and compassion are the path to overcoming it, rather, a path to self-knowledge.
Suffering in itself does not give a person depth or make him happy. Overcoming trials is forced, but not an end in itself. The search for meaning and deep experience of experience irreversibly change the vision of the world, leaving behind both traces of trauma and opportunities for growth. Viktor Frankl, after his experience in the concentration camps, wrote that meaning can be found even in suffering, but it is not a value in itself.
Even in the maelstrom of war, individual stories continue alongside collective upheavals. The desire for happiness does not fade away even against the backdrop of catastrophes and shared pain.

My exhibition is a reminder of something else: that the world is more complex than “positive–negative.” And that romanticization may not be a blind heroization of pain, but a conscious choice to see beauty in the ordinary, to find meaning not only in drama, but also in simple existence.
Not every pain has to be a lesson; sometimes it has enough space to exist. And it is in this pragmatism that another dimension of freedom appears.

Here it is appropriate to recall Camus:
“Demand for happiness and patiently seek it. There is no need to drive away melancholy, but there is a need to destroy the love of the difficult and fatal. To be happy with friends, in harmony with the world, and to achieve your happiness by following a path that still leads to death. But the main thing is to live. Not to compromise, not to retreat. Always demand more. To be, not to give up”.

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Artist Statement

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I, Zharikova Dariya, a contemporary Ukrainian artist, create metaphorical paintings in the style of abstract figurative art, exploring a person’s relationship with themselves and the world.

My work explores the themes of interaction, integrity, personal resources, and self-awareness.

I use abstract figurative to address a deep level of perception, bypassing logic and rationality.

The paintings resemble fragments of a dream or unconscious associations, which open up the possibility of introspection for the viewer.

This is a space that invites reflection on vulnerability, transformation, and the inexhaustible potential of the human spirit.

I work with oil paints, graphic techniques, digital art, and video art, seeking new ways to combine academic techniques with modern artistic concepts. My art is a space for reflection and an opportunity for the viewer to rediscover themselves through visual therapy.