In "Sole Survivor" - part of the Catching Luck series - I paint through opaque meshes, effectively blind to the result. Most of the canvas drowns in dark texture, yet, unexpectedly, a single ray was “lucky” enough to pierce through. This image cuts close to home. From a Soviet childhood to owning an international business and experiencing forced migration, I’ve seen firsthand how starting conditions and sheer chance shape lives. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu and Robert Sapolsky, I explore luck as the true capital of success and often happiness: we don’t choose our country, our family, or our brain chemistry, but these accidents define where we start.