About Residency

Her residency was supported in collaboration with Villa Swagatam and the French Institute in India, fostering a France-India cultural dialogue. Elvira’s project began with a photographic exploration of women artisans' clothing, layers that quietly told stories of labor and individuality. Through oil pastel drawings translated into textiles, she distilled the strength and poise found in daily gestures into bold compositions that echo resilience and femininity. Her photography series “Ladies from the Back” frames the unnoticed poetry of daily labor through fabric folds, where resilience whispers in the drape of a saree or the pleats of a blouse. Translating these observations into oil pastel drawings, she merges contemporary minimalism with traditional rug-making rhythms, distilling clothing’s silent language into bold strokes. Each piece becomes a dialogue between identity and craft, subtly mirroring the quiet strength of the women who inspired her work.

Works

Meet The Artisans

Artisan Name - Gulshad Ji

As he worked on the rug, he was not just weaving colours and patterns, but also bringing feelings and everyday observations into the piece. The movement of fabric, daily routines, and the quiet strength of women slowly became part of the rug through his hands. For him, the process became more than just weaving a rug. It became a way of showing respect and understanding for the strength and beauty of women through his craft.

Artisan Name - Azam ji

Artisan Name - Tauhid Ji

Biography

Elvira Voynarovska is a French -Ukrainian artist born in Kyiv and a graduate of the École Supérieure d’Art et du Design d’Orléans. Based in Orléans, her practice spans drawing, sculpture, ceramics, and textile, exploring ideas of dwelling, interiority, and the notion of home through an organic visual language that connects architecture, environment, and craft. Informed by travel and cultural encounters, her work draws on ethnological and anthropological research into ancestral forms of habitation and shared human experiences of shelter. She has exhibited at institutions such as FRAC Centre-Val de Loire and Centre d’art contemporain l’Arsenal, presented work at the ARCHIPEL festival supported by the Centre Pompidou, and expanded her practice through commissions and collaborations with Kave Home, Milk Decoration, Craft Gallery, as well as exhibitions and projects across France and internationally.