Irina Dubrovskaya was born in Donetsk (Soviet Union, now Ukraine) in 1961 and has lived in Berlin since 1992. She painted the work “Die Wand muss weichen, wenn der Meteorit der Liebe kommt” (The Wall must yield to the oncoming meteorite of love) in the East Side Gallery. Later she dedicated her painting to the oppositionists and members of human rights organizations in the GDR, West Berlin, and the Soviet Union.
Dubrovskaya’s painting “Die Wand muss weichen, wenn der Meteorit der Liebe kommt” (The Wall must yield to the oncoming meteorite of love) shows a stone crashing into the Berlin Wall. Numerous symbols arranged in a red-and-white spiral draw the viewer’s gaze to the centre. The artist later added a dedication paying tribute to the commitment of oppositionists and members of human rights organizations in the GDR, West Berlin, and the Soviet Union. Looking back, she has said about her painting:
“I can’t say that I’m especially proud of the picture.”
Dubrovskaya studied Interior Design in Moscow. She has produced mosaics and frescoes as well as paintings. Also active as a musician, in 2006 she founded the folk-chanson band Ersatz Musika. She has a son with Alexei Taranin, another contributing artist to the East Side Gallery, with whom she has lived in Berlin since 1992. She describes her style of painting as “poetic symbolism” and “mystical romantic”.