About artist

Nikita Dulerain was born 14th June 2004 in Vilnius, Lithuania. His life story was seemingly determined by medical diagnoses – cerebral palsy, epilepsy, minor learning disability and autistic traits. The prognosis was very serious – doctors claimed he would be unable to walk, to speak or to hold a pen, leaving him unable to write, draw or do many other basic things that most other children could. It has been a long and arduous journey for Nikita to adapt to our world. Everything that normal people do without a second thought, he had to spend long years learning. Breathing, swallowing, using cutlery, recognising human emotions, differentiating cold from hot, good from evil. However, God gave Nikita a surplus of patience and determination. When he was learning to walk, he fell down with every step. But every single time, he got up and kept walking. When learned to speak – he started to motivate himself – “keep trying, work harder, you can do it!” It is as if despite learning many words, Nikita forgot to learn the word “impossible”. With the support of his family and many years of rehabilitation, Nikita became able to do much more than walk and talk. He can to do many things which seemed inconceivable in the beginning. There is a widespread belief that if a child with many disabilities doesn’t learn something by the age of 7, it’s strongly unlikely that they ever will. But this is not true. When Nikita was 11, he said goodbye to his wheelchair forever. When he was 12, he learned to swim. At 13, he could read (now he speaks and reads in two languages). At 17 he could finally heat up his own food and bring his plate to the dinner table. In Eastern Europe, social integration for children with special needs is very poor. An environment of accessibility is nothing but a dream in many countries. But despite this, Nikita’s family did everything possible so that he could live a normal life full of happiness and fulfilment. He rode a horse, swam with dolphins, went into crypts and underground tunnels, flew on a hot air balloon, went camping and climbed to the peaks of mountains. He is completely devoid of fear, because he knows for certain that his mum and younger brother are always there for him. In all his baby pictures, Nikita is always smiling, and it isn’t obvious from them that he is a child with special needs, standing up on his own in some photographs without any support. But always, behind the camera stands his little brother, ready to give him a hand for support at any moment. This is very important – to know there’s someone an arm’s length away who won’t let you fall. Nikita spent a long time learning to express his emotions. For many years, he would just scream a lot and frequently. He desperately needed routine and rules; a clear understanding of exactly what would happen in the near future. If you jumbled up the words in his favourite story, he could cry for several days. If his hands got covered in paint or ink, he would become horrified. But through hard work and perseverance, it became possible to overcome this. When Nikita grew up, he started to wonder why his younger brother was always involved in afterschool clubs and activities, whilst he only attended medical procedures. So his mother started to look for something suitable. Something, where he could express himself, and do something on his own. This was very important, as Nikita really wanted to be independent in something. He was refused the chance to do swimming, with the justification for the refusal being that his condition would preclude him from practicing even with the paralympic swimming team. The next option was music – Nikita turned out to have a great ear, and an amazing teacher was found who was prepared to take on a pupil with many serious disabilities. For some time, Nikita was absolutely overjoyed, but then the teacher left the country and Nikita was once again left with nothing to do. But then, it was suggested for Nikita to start drawing – a teacher was found who wished to work with him. And so, a boy who had poor use of his hands received paint and a brush, and then a miracle happened – he could finally express the unique world contained within him. Within his mind, there are no limitations, and this is why he simply spills emotions onto the canvas, uses colours to intertwine fears and desires, passions and aspirations, illusion and reality. In his paintings, everyone sees something deep contained within the soul. Someone sees a fairy, someone sees a demon, someone – a lake, someone – a blue giant. His art bears resemblance to early Mozart, in that they are both complex and simple at the same time. His paintings absorb, one wishes to see them over and over, and each time, discovers something new. The catharsis of colour and incredible energy leave no one indifferent to them. After all, that which is created pure and from the heart, will be received in the same heartfelt fashion by the viewer.