Victoria Chaban is a contemporary artist whose work blends bold color, keen pattern, and crisp textures—primarily focusing on birds and floral images as symbols of ecological and spiritual resonance. Her pieces are often on paper using gouache and ink, and depict a wide range of avian and floral species, each rendered within a stylized, pattern-rich context.
In the Gatekeepers series: Chaban explores birds as ancient "sentinels" of environmental balance, drawing on Rachel Carson’s metaphor in Silent Spring to underscore their role as indicators of ecosystem change and human well‑being.
Each artwork carries deeper symbolic meaning. For instance: Northern Flicker symbolizes balance, linked to Native American mythology and the sun god motif.
Tit (or Blue Tit) is associated with hope, honor, faith, and a brighter future. Bittern and Lotus Flower draws from Indigenous symbolism of water and rain, paired with the lotus representing purity, rebirth, and enlightenment.
The birds are our gatekeepers, keeping us safe since ancient times.
“A gatekeeper lapsed in their duties could bring ruin upon an entire civilization, deprived of alertness and security.
Healthy bird populations are essential to human welfare and alert us to climate change and the need to protect our planet.”
"Birds could serve as Winged Sentinels of environmental degradation."
Rachel Carson wrote in her 1963 book, Silent Spring,
We must protect birds and their environments. Our survival depends on it. Birds symbolize freedom because they have the ability to roam the earth. Birds are a sign of life, rebirth intelligence. peace, hope and love. We are nothing without birds.
