Eruption
Ukraine
2026
40,000 hand-crafted red-winged bugs (also known as firebugs, gendarmes or soldier bugs) invade a living room — a metaphor for the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories. The room, once a shelter, turns hostile — occupied by beetles, echoing
Ukraine’s forced coexistence with a new, unsettling reality.
This pseudo-documentary project tells the story of the artist R.B., who one day wakes up to the sound of splintering wood and discovers a mass of bugs inside her room. The series includes a portrait of the witness, her room, her testimony, and a detailed depiction of the insect.
Portfolio
About the artist
Born in 2001, Olia Koval is a Ukrainian artist working with photography and installation. She combines analog photography with handmade objects, documenting both installations and fragments of everyday life. She graduated from the MYPH School of Conceptual Photography and the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv University of Theatre, Cinema, and Television (KNUTKiT).