katya akva is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian illustrator and medical graduate whose creative practice navigates visual jokes, metaphors, and the intricate details of daily life through sharp line work. Following a decade in commercial photography and community management, she returned to drawing at the onset of the war, channeling her diverse background into narrative-driven art. For the festival, she presents “Many Things At Once,” a deeply personal, multidisciplinary installation exploring her experience of living with ADHD through a lens of warmth, honesty, and self-irony. The exhibition acts as a tactile metaphor for a neurodiverse mind, deliberately jumping across mediums to mirror the constant search for new creative stimulation. Her display brings together handmade ceramic figurines that transform daily routines into absurd physical struggles, a handwritten zine comparing her shifting career to a Swiss Army knife, and a papier-mâché mobile representing social masking. Ultimately, the project invites both neurodivergent and neurotypical viewers into an honest, welcoming space designed to foster deeper empathy for minds that work differently.
Exhibits within: Showcase – Illustration
katya akva
