The project began with a collection of Soviet filmstrips discovered in a school in Chernihiv after it was struck by a Russian missile.

Many of them were dedicated to Russian literature, including the works of Mikhail Sholokhov, revealing how Soviet ideology became embedded in everyday education through culture.

"Opium" explores propaganda not as a relic of the past, but as a system that continues to shape consciousness long after its creation.

Through double exposure, collage, and rephotography, archival filmstrips merge with red poppies—a symbol that carries opposite meanings on the two sides of the war. For Ukrainians, they speak of remembrance, loss, love, and resistance. For Russia, they become a metaphor for dependence: an opium that dulls critical thought while sustaining the illusion of a "great Russia."

Cracks, scratches, and damaged film become part of the narrative, reflecting the collapse of one reality and the emergence of another. The final images were photographed from a CRT television onto 35mm film, extending the metaphor of propaganda transmitted through the screen.