CELL MEMORY. BABA is an installation at Oceanside Museum of Art , 2011.

This exhibition addresses the concept of cell memory and potential DNA holds for unlocking the secrets of human ancestry. For her installation VALYA created a genetic picture of the EVE – the first woman. Her face, deeply etched with the whole human history, is eternal. SHE is seen in two forms – permanent and ephemeral. One face is reminiscent of petrified wood, while other takes on the ghostly trace of the past. Her intricate pattern of wrinkles suggests the complexity of DNA molecules, which contain the blueprints for human life and hold clues to our shared genetic history. 
Placed between the two faces is a vertical panel called “The Shadow of Golden Ancestors”. It’s a shadow that we see on the wall brings us real but ethereal faces of the heroes of Ukrainian nation that VALYA belongs. 
Pulling together themes of identity, ancestry, science and memory, these portraits suggest a common thread that reaches back to the origins of human history.