The theme of the project was born while Alena facilitated creative sessions for the group of participants from Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Syria who have recently arrived in Scotland as refugees and were still dealing mentally with their monstrous circumstances. The main aim of the project was to allow people to express themselves visually beyond different languages or a lack of art skills. On this collective creative journey, Alena was trying to discover a medium with the potential to tell true stories that participants were willing to share. The idea to use a pillowcase as a surface was a brave experiment that eventually opened up the emotional voices of people despite their various cultural backgrounds. It has not been an easy project for anyone involved often revealing real pain and constantly triggering sensitive memories while participants were shaping or painting over their cases. However, it was extraordinary to see a real transformation of the collective pain into the feelings associated with hope and the ability to move forward.

As the outcome of the project, participants developed a strong body of work in the form of dreamlike sculptural pieces that Alena touched up in her studio. Alena teamed up with the peer artist Cecilia Volpi to be able to capture the process and special moments of the journey behind Beyond our depth. Together they developed a short film to accompany the installation and at the moment are looking for a venue with the right spirit to exhibit both works.