Unlocking Ukraine: Embroidered QR Codes as Cultural Keys
by Alexandra Keeler
In the intricate world of Ukrainian embroidery patterns, symbols don't just adorn fabric – they serve as symbolic codes and protective spells, a tapestry of talismans shielding both people and the items they clothe from harm.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv-born master embroiderer Tetiana Protcheva turned her talents toward guerrilla art activism. Blending ancient Ukrainian folk art with cutting-edge technology, Protcheva creates embroidered QR codes loaded with digital resources detailing Ukrainian culture. “My mission is to go around the world and show people Ukraine through embroidery,” she says.
Protcheva’s work has been showcased at international exhibitions, including Expo 2020 Dubai, EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, and EXPO 2005 Japan, spreading awareness of Ukraine's rich heritage worldwide.
Protcheva also pioneered the 3D embroidery technique, officially recognized in the Book of Records of Ukraine, and gave birth to a fresh artistic genre called Glow Art. "When I was in Japan, at [EXPO 2005 Japan], one lady gave me a special thread,” Protcheva recounts. “The thread glows in the dark!”
She began using the gifted thread and, collaborating with the Glow Gallery international initiative, crafted a series of illuminated embroidered portraits featuring figures like Steve Jobs, Andy Warhol, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jesus Christ. These portraits glow in the dark, seemingly resurrecting their subjects. In 2011, she established a private museum in Kyiv, which has attracted art enthusiasts from across the globe.
I met with Protcheva in the backyard of a Toronto apartment she was lodging in. Holding an ancient rushnyk–a decorative ritual cloth covering religious icons–she told me her story over the humming late summer cicada drone.
In February 2022, Protcheva worked in the Ukrainian pavilion at EXPO Dubai, where Ukraine’s Economic Ministry invited her to support the country. When the full-scale war began, she became stranded in Dubai. Seeing that she had nowhere to go, Karan Wienker, a frequent EXPO conference attendee from America, invited Protcheva to join his family in Florida. The Wienkers graciously welcomed Protcheva into their home, where she resided for a year.
“I have been living out of one piece of luggage for two years,” she says, laughing. Luckily, her art is fairly minimalist. “It’s a small code, with a lot of information.”
Combining tradition with innovation, Protcheva embroiders QR codes that connect viewers to a rich tapestry of digital content containing insights into Ukrainian history, culture, geography, and its global ties. The web she has woven includes videos of Ukrainian dances, articles about historical figures – such as renowned Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko – various insights and facts about Ukraine, and more.
The "Ukraine is My Home" project has enjoyed a series of international presentations. It debuted at Expo 2020 Dubai and was later showcased at the Ukrainian Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, on August 24, 2021, coinciding with Ukraine's Independence Day.
The significance of encoding hidden information in embroidery cannot be overlooked, as the age-old cultural tradition of embroidered designs was thought to imbue the wearer of these garments with the protective power of its symbols. For instance, the circle symbolizes the sun, imparting strength and vitality, while the archaic rhombus represents fertility, abundance, and well-being.
One of the most famous ancient symbols is the Berehynia, which dates back to the Trypillian culture of 5400-2500 BC from modern Ukraine and Moldova. They were renowned for their agriculture, cattle-raising, pottery-making, and an agrarian cult of fertility and prosperity. Berehynia is recognizable in its modern form as the Independence Monumentlocated on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv, commemorating the independence of Ukraine in 1991. She symbolizes both life-giving nurturing qualities and a controlling influence over destinies, regarded as the mother of all, the creator of the heavens, and the mistress of rain crucial for prolonging fertility.
In Trypillian culture, steeped in female symbolism, the Berehynia symbol features a rhombus on the stomach, divided into four sections with dots inside, symbolizing a sown field. In this ancient tradition, a young woman, upon becoming pregnant, would adorn herself with clothing embroidered with rhombuses, wearing them until the birth of her child.
Other common symbols prevalent in Ukrainian embroidery include the mallow or eight-pointed star, symbolizing the creation of life by blending masculine and feminine elements (sun and moon). This star also represents the energy field around living beings, with its eight points reflecting the eight energy flows shaping the physical and spiritual essence during the first cell division of a human zygote.
The tree of life symbolizes the universe's three components: past (underworld), present (earthly world), and future (heavenly kingdom) through its roots, trunk, and crown. Wearing it signifies protection, unity, personal growth, and heritage connection. Shirts embroidered with key or sigma symbols were believed to create a protective barrier against negative energy, evil spirits, and harmful forces.
“Our ancestors considered red a source of positive energy and protection from troubles,” Protcheva says. According to the artist, black symbolizes the earth, fertile land, and prosperity. White symbolizes innocence, purity, and god; blue represents sky and water; green symbolizes youth; yellow symbolizes sunlight and wealth.
Protcheva uses black and red threads – the colors of the central region of Ukraine – with simple designs and traditional geometrical shapes. Her project embraces the technological present and channels the enduring magic and protection woven into Ukraine's cultural tapestry. This connection carries even greater weight in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Protcheva shares her technique for combining centuries-old Ukrainian embroidery traditions with modern technology: "I take the Internet link, then using a special program, I generate a QR code. Then I make a pattern for embroidery. I patented a method for creating a pattern for embroidering a QR code in Ukraine in 2022. Then I select the fabric and thread count to scan the QR code with a mobile phone." The challenge lies in maintaining the delicate balance between ensuring the QR code's functionality and preserving the aesthetic integrity of the embroidery. This requires harmonizing the embroidery work's intricacy with the QR code's precise requirements to make it scannable.
Although her projects take new shapes, Protcheva has consistently found ways to marry centuries-old Ukrainian folk art with contemporary materials and practices.
“When I was working in Japan, I saw that very educated people did not know about Ukraine.” This observation sparked an initiative led by Protcheva in 2009, during which she created a giant embroidered map of Ukraine. The project includes woven symbols and motifs reminiscent of ancient Trypillian ceramics dating back to the 5th-4th centuries. Her objective was to revive these time-honored symbols and place them on a contemporary map. The project involved collaboration with numerous artisans who worked together to research and restore this centuries-old heritage of spiritual culture. Using linen as her canvas, Protcheva embroidered each region with its corresponding traditional ethnic motifs, showcasing Ukraine’s cultural richness and diversity and its unity.
Her latest project, "Time for Ukraine," also blends the old with the new. In this project, she marries American pop culture with Ukrainian heritage by embedding QR codes into vintage watch cases. She traces well-known American celebrities to Ukrainian roots, highlighting key figures such as Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Andy Warhol, and Chuck Palahniuk. By intertwining American celebrity allure with Ukrainian identity, she elevates Ukraine's relevance in the eyes of the American public. “The public knows these people. I don’t need to explain who they are,” she says.
Protcheva cannot quantify the digital traffic generated by her efforts, because she links her codes to various sources and sites to provide a wide swath of information. Still, she is encouraged to continue her cultural innovation to raise awareness about Ukrainian culture, increasing the country’s relevancy in the world, and ultimately showing that we are all connected, regardless of where we were born.
Protcheva's various embroidery projects have profoundly impacted globally by raising awareness of Ukrainian culture and preserving its heritage. Her participation in prestigious international exhibitions has introduced Ukrainian culture to diverse audiences. She bridges cultural gaps and fosters cross-cultural connections by blending traditional embroidery with modern technology. Her work serves as a powerful tool for cultural preservation and provides unique educational resources, deepening understanding of Ukrainian history and culture.
Despite being a world traveler with a philosophy of interconnectedness, Protcheva admits a longing for home. “I’ve been around the world–different countries. My son asked me, ‘Where do you want to live?’ I told him, ‘Ukraine.’”