Anna Moroid

Madonna Sola draws on the Italian tradition of the Mater Dolorosa and brings it into the present-day reality of Ukraine. Rather than showing the violence of war itself, the work is concerned with what is left behind: a mother living with the loss of her son, certain that the cause for which he died was just.

Her grief is quiet and contained. She is alone, but there is nothing fragile about her. The image is not about despair, nor does it try to make suffering beautiful. It is about the way grief can remain part of a person without taking away their dignity, conviction or strength. For centuries, the Mater Dolorosa has given form to the pain of a mother who has lost her child. In Madonna Sola, that image becomes contemporary and removes the distance of history. The sacred figure is brought closer to women living through the consequences of war now.

For the theme of Worship, the work treats mourning itself as a form of devotion. The mother holds on to her son through memory, while the restrained blackwork keeps the image austere and close to the language of devotional portraiture. Nothing is resolved: the loss remains, but so does the person who carries it.