Ukraine war refugee unveils exhibition of handmade dolls at Doncaster museum

Artist Yana Isaenko was among thousands forced to flee for their lives when Russia invaded the country – and since arriving in Doncaster, she has been using her artistic talents to create traditional dolls to remind her of her homeland.

The Motanka dolls have been put on display at Danum Gallery Library and Museum in an exhibition dubbed ‘Emotions’ and will be on show until the New Year.

Describing Doncaster as her “second home” Yana, who is a vet, said: “I have always associated my professional work with art.

“I can’t be idle - I always need to design and implement something.

“My creativity, informality, live narrative and most important – life emotions are unchangeable.”

She started creating the dolls in 2016 and added: “The doll was only a business product for me at that moment, but as I lost myself in its research and began creating them, I saw how powerful the Ukrainian doll is and that it has a soul.

Dolls are usually constructed using old fabrics, maize leaves, grass and straw.

She said: “As a child’s toy, the doll had a lighthearted significance. In addition, the doll was a charm. However, it has no mystical significance.

"The majority of the dolls were manufactured by women and were made from clothing or remnants of fabrics and functioned as a charm from the grandmother to her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. As a result, it is extremely valuable.”

Added Yana: “It was the doll that breathed life into me, and I gave all the emotions of the war to it.

After the invasion, she added: “I couldn’t make dolls, everything fell out of my hands, there were no ideas after the war started.

"But the revival began with angels and small dolls, which I made for boys in Ukraine’s armed forces and handed over to the front as a charm."

As well as dolls created during the war, there is also one marking the Coronation of King Charles III.

Before the full-scale invasion of Russia, she lived in Kyiv for 14 years and came to the UK in 2022, living with a family in Sprotbrough.

She is a certified master and a member of the National Union of Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine.

As soon as she arrived in Doncaster, she offered to hold master classes on making dolls for children and adults living in the city and the Refugee Council organised such an event where everyone could make their own unique doll.

She also knits necklaces, makes jewellery, draws, organises various exhibitions, collects old embroidered Ukrainian towels and outfits, writes poems and conducts workshops on making dolls.

She added: “You need to create opportunities for yourself. The main thing is to set a goal for yourself and move in the right direction. I have had the idea of holding a personal exhibition of my works in England for a long time, right here where I live now.”