Krukh
Nacia Plisko

This project began in 2019 in my kitchen, born from a deep personal need to create with my hands using the materials already around me — paper, discarded plastic, and other waste — aiming to recycle, upcycle, and avoid further environmental impact.

This unknown journey, which I call Krukh, has taught me to embrace imperfection. The cracks and irregularities in the texture evoke something primitive, reminding me that not everything is under human control.

The objects retain the natural colors of the paper waste — mostly white and off-white. This gives them a mystical, Cycladic-inspired character that reflects both the environment where I was born (Ukraine) and the one where I grew up (Athens and Mykonos, Greece).

The word krukh (pronounced “kroo-kh”) comes from the Slavic word for “circle.” The main inspiration behind the project is the natural circle of life — just like in nature, when an organism dies, it decomposes and gives life to another, forming an eternal cycle.

An interesting part of this ongoing project is that, as I search for inspiration, I keep noticing so many similarities and shared natural elements between the countryside and traditions of Ukraine and those of the Cyclades. This connection feels like it fills certain gaps in my cultural identity — not only creatively, but personally as well.