The work of Ukrainian digital artist and digital fashion designer Maria Ladan will be sent to the Moon as part of the international initiative BitBasel Space: Art for Impact. Maria became the only artist from Ukraine whose work was selected to participate in this space mission.
The work of Ukrainian digital artist and digital fashion designer Maria Ladan will be sent to the Moon as part of the international initiative BitBasel Space: Art for Impact. Maria became the only artist from Ukraine whose work was selected to participate in this space mission.
This is an international initiative, implemented in partnership with GLPH Moon Mission, that brings together artists from around the world around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
All selected artifacts will be digitized and stored on a special digital medium that will be placed aboard the Griffin-1 lunar lander, which will be launched in November 2025 as part of NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program.
In 2025, the initiative paid special attention to the theme "Life Below Water".
Maria's work is called The Drowning Titan. It visualizes the impact of ocean pollution on the planet through the image of a giant human head partially submerged in the ocean. It is a metaphor for how human civilization—with all its achievements—is drowning in the waste it has created.
According to the artist, the composition combines realism and surrealism, inviting the viewer to reflect on what is hidden beneath the surface — both in nature and culture.
To create the work, the artist used Blender for 3D modeling and Photoshop for post-processing.
“I became the only artist from Ukraine whose work was selected to participate in this space mission. For me, this is a great honor and an opportunity to present Ukrainian art in a global and interplanetary context,” says Maria. “This is not only a cultural event, but also a symbolic step towards preserving our planet and cultural heritage. And, what is especially important for me, it is an example of the fact that the Ukrainian voice can be heard even in space.”
