The name "Husserafini" comes from combining the Polish winged hussar warrior & the Polish word for seraphim; "serafini".
"Husserafini" is a completely hand painted work or art made using digital oil pastels and represents overcoming, conquering, becoming unbound, and winning battles without bloodshed... but through love. This is a self portrait of the artist and was made in celebration of her Polish heritage, surviving long-term abuse and trauma, and her fight against chronic pain and illness. What others may hear as complaining of a hard life, the artist sees as a victory worth celebrating, a declaration of her strengths - not her weaknesses. Here, she is represented how she sees herself; whole, capable, strong, a being not to be pitied but to be celebrated and looked at in amazement of her triumphs.
In light of the invasion on Ukraine, Rey felt inspired to look into her heritage and culture as a descendant of Poland & Russia before there ever was Ukraine. This involved many conversations with her grandmother about "the motherland" and ultimately led to Rey searching things like "traditional Polish attire" on the internet. After looking up "Polish military" on nothing short of a whim, Rey came across the Polish hussar warrior for the very first time and was immediately mesmerized. As a little girl, the artist always had an affinity for Disney's Mulan, and identified with the Princess as she embodies both delicacy, and strength, femininity, and masculinity, leaving her with a fascination with armor and swords because of this. In one fell swoop the inspiration for the piece before you came to be. Rey and her family jokingly refer to this piece as "The Polish Mulan".
