Viktoriia Naumuk / Вікторія Наумук (2001) is a visual artist and designer from Lutsk in the historical region of Volhynia in the western part of Ukraine. She draws most of her inspiration from the environment that surrounds her, whether it is specific places, people and their current situation or their cultural identity and reflection on memory and history. Viktoriia Naumuk’s typical forms of expression are photography, calligraphy, design and video. In 2022, she obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Lviv National Academy of Arts. During her studies, she completed several foreign internships, including a stay at Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław in 2021. Shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion, she left to study in the Czech Republic. Since 2022, she has been enrolled in a master’s program at the Studio of Type Design and Typography at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM).
Viktoriia Naumuk has presented her work at several competitions and exhibitions. In 2023, she competed for an award in the category of Communication Design at Zlín Design Week; in 2022, she was shortlisted for the Ukrainian Books Design Awards and Ukrainian Design the Very Best of 2021 in student category. Her installations were featured at the Breadbasket exhibition in Villa P561 in Prague in 2023 and later in 2024 at a student art showcase Stones of Impermanence at Městská galerie (City Gallery) in Týn nad Vltavou. In 2022, she presented her photograph Mask in the exhibition at Cardiff School of Art & Design and photo project TO HEAR in regional gallery VONSCHU, Lutsk in 2021.
MONIKA DRLÍKOVÁ’S INTERVIEW WITH VIKTORIIA NAUMUK, CONDUCTED VIA EMAIL, AUGUST 2024
Monika Drlíková: Where exactly are you from? What is happening in your hometown right now? Is your family with you in Prague? Under what circumstances did you come to Prague and why did you choose UMPRUM?
Viktoriia Naumuk: I’m from Lutsk, more specifically, I live in a village Prylutske near a military airfield. When the invasion started, I was staying at the dormitory of the Lviv National Academy of Arts, where I had been enrolled in bachelor studies. It was the beginning of the second term of the fourth year.
After a month spent in the house with my parents, unable to cope with my surroundings and limited options, I decided that something must change. The only option that my parents agreed to was a relocation abroad. I applied for partner foreign schools of the LNAA (Lviv National Academy of Arts). It wasn’t an easy choice. I wanted to stay close to Ukrainian borders and enroll into one of the Polish academies, so I could help in a place with a high concentration of Ukrainians.
Then I received the news about being accepted at UMPRUM and upon a recommendation of a friend from LNAA, who at theat time did her studies in Pilsen, I decided to enroll into the school, because I was convinced that it could be a very useful experience.
MD: How do you feel about UMPRUM and your studio? Why did you choose this studio specifically?
VN: When I completed the internship and obtained my bachelor’s degree at LNAA, I didn’t feel ready to continue and apply for any master’s program. Initially, it was difficult for me to find my place in Prague. The city did not stir up any emotions in me, moreover, I found it a bit difficult to adapt to local life, despite the fact being socially involved in the communication with foreign students at FAMU and meeting new people while volunteering in NGO Deli. In general, I wasn’t sure it’d make any sense to stay here and try something else.
By now I have found reasons to stay in Prague: The streets are peaceful and safe. The comfort and plentiful spots of greenery in the city have a therapeutic effect. Language learning remains a problem. I still haven’t found the strength to overcome the language barrier and start speaking Czech.
Applying to study at the Studio of Type Design and Typography was an experiment, challenge and a flight of curiosity too. I needed to choose something related to graphic design to feel comfortable in a new environment and be able to work on my diploma thesis.
Work on my diploma ranked second on the list of my worst stresses. At one point, I just wanted to forget about it and spend all my time in the studio. I had been interested in typography even before I thought I would devote my life to photography and video. I enjoyed creating letterings for my term projects. When the full-scale invasion started, I was sitting in a bathtub and practiced text vectorization. This, along with Jan Čumlivski's kindness (the assistant in Typo studio) were the reasons I could rely on while making a decision.
MD: Describe what you deal with in your artistic work, what are your thoughts in this context, what kind of approaches you employ in your projects. Feel free to elaborate.
VN: I use various media in my artistic work. Most often, it’s photography, calligraphy, design and video. I focus on the interpretation and visualization of connections between history, memory and cultural identity. All my works reveal my personal and cultural background and reflect the social-cultural context. They deal with transience and memory or explore cultural identity, heritage and preservation of history by means of visual storytelling.
Many of my works attempt to revive historical fonts and references to Ukrainian heritage. I appreciate the collaboration with other Ukrainian artists, which adds diverse perspectives to the work.
MD: Do you feel you need to become socially and politically engaged in connection with Ukraine? If so, in what form?
VN: I help as a volunteer whenever I can. I have been painting with the displaced children and now I volunteer in another program for children. I have participated in construction work in East of Ukraine, protests and rallies. I have also organized and helped organize pro-Ukrainian events at UMPRUM.
