I was born in Kyiv in 1981. My father was a military officer, and because of his service, we had to move frequently during my early childhood. A bit later, still before school age, our family settled in Syrets — a district of Kyiv, not far from Babyn Yar.

At school, I had no real interest in academic subjects. The required discipline was incomprehensible to me. For the first few years, I could hardly understand why I was even there, which became a serious issue for my parents. I often allowed myself to draw in my notebook during dictations or exams. Perhaps my path as an artist was already set back then.