third country citizen. Life is a Story - story.one

The broad streets of Vienna and the bustling port of Odesa, a small dying village somewhere in central Ukraine, a dusty boot camp where tents stand in a semi-circle under the scorching sun, lacquered school hallways and narrow dormitory rooms - what is the overlap here? Can a person live multiple disconnected lives, in multiple places, but remain one and the same? What does it really mean to fall under the category of 'third country citizen'? This work is a collection of memories, glimpses into the strange, complex life of a lonely teen immigrant. The stories of loss and gain explore the dichotomies of love and hate for people and places; of belonging while being disconnected and not belonging while sharing; of holding onto things one should move on from and pushing away what should be embraced.

Autorentext

Born in Odesa in 2002 into a then small family living in a Soviet panel house on the edge of town, Masha never expected to even move anywhere else within Ukraine - let alone to end up living by herself in Vienna as a teenager. Now studying Comparative Literature and Philosophy and having built a small queer family of her own, she looks back on her experience and asks herself: who and what was crucial to all this? With an interest in exploring complex emotions and intricate interpersonal dynamics through memories of small everyday interactions, Masha's work delves into the connections between siblings, friends and lovers, drawing inspiration from personal experiences and her academic background.