A year on from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Masha Foya, a renowned illustrator and artist based in Kyiv, has recently launched a collaboration with Sleepwave, an innovative motion-sensing sleep tracking and smart alarm app, to produce art on the theme of “A Better Tomorrow”.
Masha Foya, is a talented artist whose surreal compositions and landscapes have been featured in leading publications, such as The New York Times and The Guardian. Her illustrations also have been published in several children’s books, including ‘Discoveries of prehistory: How archeologists work’ by Volodymyr Tilishak and ’When I was a Fox’ by Tanya Postavna.
Sleepwave’s technology transforms your phone into a contactless motion sensor enabling accurate sleep tracking from beside your bed and a smart alarm that is in sync with your body movements. The app, available for both iOS and Android, also features unique visualizations that respond to users movements, called Wavescapes.
Design is at the heart of Sleepwave, with bold concepts in the app’s design such as avoiding human faces and celebrating the natural world.
“Creating original artwork felt important to help highlight Sleepwave’s differences from other apps in the space. Masha's emotive and dreamlike illustrations caught our attention and chimed with our vision for an immersive app that positively impacts people’s lives.” Jules Goldberg, Founder of Sleepwave.
Masha's enthusiasm for Sleepwave was reciprocated and, after meeting the team virtually, she began creating three unique artworks focusing on sleeping, awakening and “a better tomorrow” for the commission.
Masha says: “When I began to study the Sleepwave app, I realised quickly the importance of the company's mission: Helping a person to wake up gently and naturally without aggressive alarms and stress. I fell in love with the visual aspect of the app. Sleepwave portrays a very magical story with motion animation, which is very meditative,”
“In my illustrations, I often travel through a certain magical world with drops of surrealism. Therefore, creating illustrations for Sleepwave was the most enjoyable task for me. I felt a certain responsibility and honour that my work will accompany people during such an intimate process, such as waking up from sleep. I consider sleeping to be one of the most important parts of the day and perhaps one of the most pleasant. I personally see very vivid dreams, so for me it is also a very exciting journey into the subconscious.”
Masha’s passion for drawing emerged in her early teens, and she later went on to study Fine Arts at Kyiv Polytechnic University. It was during her time at university where she further developed her illustrative skills, using the power of art as a way to communicate with people.
Masha’s recent work has documented the emotional turmoil of war and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Masha comments on how life has changed for her and other Ukrainians:
“I can say that there were a lot of tears, anger and fear during this year. The feeling of fear that you can lose your home, that you can die from rocket attacks from the hands of Russian soldiers changes you from the inside. I think that all Ukrainians have changed a lot this year.”
With artists like Masha continuing their work in the midst of the war, the collaboration ‘A Better Tomorrow’ is just another example of how companies, like Sleepwave, can continue to support and show compassion to those affected.
“In addition to negative emotions, there is also a lot of love, respect and tenderness for my country, for my people and for all the people from different countries who help us! I know for sure and believe that our victory is close." shares Masha.
"A better tomorrow for me is an opportunity to feel safe and free."
Masha Foya’s artwork will be showcased in the App Store and across Sleepwave’s digital channels.
