| Artist | Ellaya Yefymova | Resides | Portugal |
| Website | ellaya-art.com | Medium | Oil |
| Print Shop | ellaya-art.com/shop | [email protected] | |
| Follow the Artist | Instagram | Facebook | Themes | Mortality Dark art |
About the artist
Ellaya Yefymova (b. 1990, Ukraine) is a dark artist with a medical diploma and an unlimited love for science, art and the human body.
Her artistic journey began in 2020, sparked by global lockdown and a period of maternity leave, which allowed her to reassess her goals and fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an artist.
In 2020 she was a nominee for Portal Art prize (Kyiv, Ukraine), in 2021 – for Art Gemini prize (London, UK). In 2023, she participated in the London Art Biennale.
Following the outbreak of war in 2022, Ellaya moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where her work began to delve into themes of mortality and the perception of death as a powerful motivation to live this life consciously.
Artwork Themes & Subject Matter
Influenced by the concept of vanitas, Ellaya Yefymova explores the transience of life and the inevitability of death. Unlike the allegorical art of Baroque vanitas, which often concealed symbolic meanings, her work is more direct, offering reflections on mortality without romanticizing or trivializing it. Her aim is to reinterpret the Memento Mori tradition with a modern lens, layering it with new meaning.
Ellaya believes it is time for humanity to cease wasting lives and resources on wars and instead focus on technological, emotional, and personal evolution – to finally become a better version of humans – “humans 2.0.” As Irvin D. Yalom wrote “though the physicality of death destroys us, the idea of death may save us”.
Press
Ellaya Yefymova’s paintings have been featured in notable magazine and online sources including Al-tiba9 Art Magazine, Flux, and The Huts Magazine.
Upcoming Exhibitions
| When | Exhibition | Gallery |
| January 2025 | Group exhibition: “Tzompantli” | Amplia Gallery Mexico City, Mexico |
| April 2025 | Group exhibition: “PENUMBRA/ 10 Year Anniversary/ DARK ART SHOW“ | Curio Art Gallery online exhibition |
| July 2025 | Group exhibition: “Tzompantli” | Aveiro, Portugal |
CV
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
Exhibition of small formats, Galeria monumental, Lisbon, Portugal
Vision Art Fair, Lisbon, Portugal
2023
London Art Biennale, London, United Kingdom
Ukrainian wave, Espaço Quadrasoltas Gallery, Porto, Portugal
Ukraine – from wheat to storm, Menu Das Artes, Berlin, Germany
2022
Charity exhibitions for Ukraine, Lisbon and Oeiras, Portugal
2021
ArtGemini Prize, The Exhibitionist hotel, London, UK
Familiar Strangers, Online Art Gallery Vacant Museum
NFT4ThePlanet
2020
exhibition of nominees for Portal Art Prize 2020 “A wonderful new world?”, Portal 11 Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine.
