Photographer Mike Kobal captured rising model Victoria Tarnavska on the streets of New York, near Columbus Circle. The busy roundabout in Manhattan, marks the southwest corner of Central Park. Situated at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, and 59th Street, it’s where NYC highway distances are measured. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1857, the circle features a monument to Christopher Columbus, placed in 1892, and stands near the Merchant’s Gate, a key park entrance. Originally from a small village in Western Ukraine, close to Lviv and 15km from the Polish border, Victoria was forced to leave her home due to the war. We spoke with her about her journey from Yavoriv to New York City, the challenges she’s faced, and how the ongoing conflict continues to shape her life. Here’s her story.
Photos Mike Kobal
Model Victoria Tarnavska at Elite Model Management NYC
ZOOT: Hi Victoria, you are currently based in New York, can you tell us a little about your hometown or the region you come from?
Victoria: I come from the Lviv region, the small town of Yavoriv, where I lived most of my life with my grandmother after my parents divorced. Then for some time my place of residence was Lviv, where my father was born. This is the place of my strength, my formation as a person, and I fondly remember those times.
ZOOT: How does it feel to be in New York right now, away from home, with the war still waging, and the most recent attacks on Lviv?
Victoria: It is difficult to put into words the pain and injustice that every Ukrainian now feels, no matter where he or she is. In the frantic rhythm of New York, you try to live your life, but every piece of news from Ukraine tears your heart to pieces. The last shelling of Lviv was one of the hardest times for me. The father of my friends died under the rubble of a house in Lviv directly hit by a Russian missile.
We were in an apartment in New York when the call came from her mother, “Dad couldn’t be saved.” I wanted to scream in pain. I felt powerless to do anything while in front of me sat a person who has lost his father. At such moments life just stops.
ZOOT: Can you tell us a bit more about your experience of the early days of the war?
Victoria: I was at home, as I remember, and on that day I had coursework defense at the university at 10 o’clock in the morning. I woke up to dozens of calls from my girlfriend, and the first text I saw was “the war has started, the Russian military is already in Kyiv.” There was shock, confusion, and disbelief. My full realization came the evening of February 24, when people were standing at the border with Poland. I understood that I could not leave without my family, so I decided to help as much as I could. We made food for children, women, and all the people who were waiting in line at the border with Poland. Every anxiety chilled the heart. My house is located next to one of the largest military units of Ukraine, I understood that if you get there, you won’t save anything. Therefore, for every air alarm, we left the house, slept in our jackets and did not take off our shoes. We were afraid to open our eyes in the morning and see that the Russian military was already here.
ZOOT: What are the most significant ways in which it has affected your daily life and the lives of your family and friends, what has changed in your life since 24th February 2022?
Victoria: My dad is a military man who has been defending our Ukraine since 2014 and has been in the most hellish hostilities. A few weeks before the start of the war, Dad went east. My own brother was in Spain when the war started, and on the 3rd day of the war, he was already in Ukraine having decided to go defend his home and all of us. His only thought was “who if not me?”At that moment, my mother was in Poland, and my grandmother remained in Ukraine. It was so scary, nothing would be like before, everything changed, the war scattered everyone around the world.
ZOOT: When did you decide to leave your home, and by what means? How was your journey to NY and to become a model?
Victoria: I left my home for the first time after several weeks of war in Ukraine. First I went to Poland for three weeks and then came back again. I remember when I was leaving Ukraine, I thought that I would never return, that I would not see the people I love so much again. When I was leaving, I was given access to all possible accounts in case something happened. Every night in Poland was harder and harder. Whenever there was an air alert in Ukraine, I would call everyone to see if everything was okay or if everyone was hiding and so on every time. I thought it would have been easier abroad and it would have helped to calm my anxiety, but no, it was even more difficult for me, and I understood that my relatives did not say much in order not to upset me. After some time, I left for Poland again, and spent about half a year there. I felt that time was running out. I’m finishing my studies, getting a diploma, but what would I do next? Every day you expect the end ofthe war and everything only gets worse. I decided to the States. My partner’s family was there at the time, so we decided that it might be better there. I lived in Connecticut for the first two months while waiting for the documents, but then I realized that I needed to move on and New York might be perfect for me. I began to have a circle of people who kept talking about what you should try. I remember taking my models snaps for a few weeks. At first I didn’t take it seriously. I knew I planned to get a degree and become a psychologist, but maybe God had plans for me, although the thought of psychology still doesn’t leave me. But I realized that if life gives me an opportunity, I have to try it, and I began to build my plan of action. And a few months later, I signed my first contract with ELITE New York.
ZOOT: What is the impact of the war on your life today? Has your perception changed over the time?
Victoria: The war changed my life before and after. I see how things have gone so far, people still dying every day, citizens losing their homes and leaving everything behind and fleeing in search of stability and security. You look at it and do not see the end when it will all stop. But I am so proud of our Ukrainian people– the strength, power and independence of all us Ukrainians– people who have learned to live with war, build businesses, new lives, and love and be as happy as much as is possible now. Life is so unpredictable, you want to live every moment.
ZOOT: How are your family and friends and your community still in Ukraine doing?
Victoria: It’s a question that makes one’s legs twitch. My father and brother are at war and I wish for them to return alive and unharmed. My mother and grandmother live in Poland and try to work. Friends are just trying to live in conditions that have left them with no choice.
ZOOT: How was it to start an entire life over in a country where they don’t speak you’re mother language? What are the biggest challenges you face in rebuilding a life in a foreign country?
Victoria: It’s one thing when you move on your own accord when everything is fine, and another thing when you have no choice and need to continue living. When I arrived in the states, the first thing I did was go to school to learn English, now I feel more confident because I can maintain a conversation and answer questions, but it is still not enough, so I continue to improve my language skills. The Americans themselves will help you overcome language and cultural barriers, so if possible surround yourself with people who speak English and who can tell you about the culture.
ZOOT: How is your new life developing now? What are your aspirations for the future in your new country?
Victoria: My life has changed, this is a fact. I survived divorce, war and emigration. Now everything is changing fast for me, sometimes I feel I don’t have time, but the most important thing is that I am safe. I try to do everything that depends on me, and then everything is God’s will. I want to believe that my country will live free and independent. I want to see the smiles of children who lived their best childhood, not tears and eyes filled with fear, sitting in a bomb shelter. I want to see people full of love walking around their native Lviv making plans for the future. I want to see the day come when we will sit down at the family table for Christmas and sing carols. I want to see a happy Ukrainian people who want to live in their country because all is well there. I’m at the beginning of my modeling career. It’s not an easy path but it gives me the strength to move on. I got such a great opportunity so I’m using my chance.
ZOOT: What is your approach to news, social media and television?
Victoria: I have installed the application of air alarms in Ukraine, it is turned on 24/7, so I always know what is happening where because a notification comes immediately to my phone. I have limited access to television, but I know and follow the most important news. I learned to filter what I watch and who I listen to, that’s how I can keep myself sane.
ZOOT: How have you managed to maintain your creative and professional activity and your mental health despite the situation?
Victoria: I finished my university studies a year ago with a specialty in psychology. I have certain skills to keep my sanity under control, but of course I am a living person who is going through difficult stages of my life, so for a certain period of time I myself was in therapy with a psychologist. It was one of the best decisions for me. I am a creative person, so it is very important for me to find resources and inspiration to create.
ZOOT: What can the international fashion community do to help Ukrainian people? How do you recommend to keep the rest of the world engaged in what’s happening in Ukraine? How can we all help?
Victoria: I would like the fashionable international community not to forget that the war is still going on, that Russia is killing Ukrainian civilians every day. I believe that it is necessary to provide more support for Ukrainian models, designers, photographers and other creative personalities with the help of certain projects and collaborations.
The world should see and know the difference between Ukrainians and Russians, we are different, we have never been brothers and never will be.
ZOOT: Has there been a moment over the past year that you felt most proud to be a Ukrainian?
Victoria: I am proud every day that I am Ukrainian. All my life I was raised according to Ukrainian traditions, views and culture. Every day the whole world sees all the strength and resistance of the Ukrainian people. A Ukrainian will give his life but will never obey, because will and independence are in our blood, in our DNA.
ZOOT: What do you imagine your life will be like when the war is over? What’s the first thing you will do then?
Victoria: I know for sure that there will be nothing to be happy about. The recovery and rebuilding of the country will be a difficult and long process ahead. The end of the war and victory mean only one thing, hundreds of people gave their lives for our independence, this is a great burden that will last a generation and it will not be easy nor the end when the war is finished. It will be the responsibility of every Ukrainian who must understand the price of it all. The first thing I will do is take my beloved by the hand, and we will fly home, to my native home, where I grew up, to my family, for dinner at my mother’s, who will make dumplings and my favorite plum compote, which my grandmother, and then I’ll walk through my native Lviv with Lviv coffee and our handmade chocolate.
When you are so far from home, you want such simple moments, that’s why I want to say only one thing, cherish your everyday life, tell people as often as possible that you love them, because today these are ordinary things for you and tomorrow they may be an unattainable luxury.
With faith in a bright future, Victoria!
Thank you Victoria!
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To boot….
See more of Mike Kobal here on ZOOT.
Mike Kobal, photographer @globalshutter
www.mikekobal.com
