Garden for L.P. 2018

Editor: This is Pavlo Makov’s etching titled “Garden for L.P.” from 2018. The monochromatic print presents what appears to be a landscape, but it's also strangely geometric and map-like. It feels… almost like a memory of a garden. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I am drawn to the symbol of the garden itself, as an Edenic space and site of origin. The lines almost look like pathways within a mind, reflecting how deeply entwined we are with the landscapes we build, physically and psychologically. The geometry you pointed out provides the organizational structure for emotional content to be distributed; do you notice any other recurring symbols? Editor: The spiral at the bottom… is that also significant? It's visually distinct from the angularity elsewhere. Curator: Absolutely! The spiral carries echoes of growth, evolution, even the cosmos itself. Its inclusion here amidst this landscape might suggest an ever-evolving nature of "place." We must consider, too, what is being remembered and memorialized by such symbolic language. Is this about a place, or about something lost or in need of cultivation? Editor: So the combination of landscape and geometry, along with that spiral, works almost like a cultural memory device. I am just trying to remember what "L.P." might refer to... I need to think about that! Curator: Precisely! It invites us to consider the deeper cultural and personal meanings we associate with such places and patterns. Memory interacts with a longing for place in this garden's map. Editor: I never thought of landscapes in art carrying such weight of memory. Looking at art this way makes me question how much gardens carry the burden of human memory and desire for lost or dreamt spaces. Curator: Indeed, and questioning assumptions is at the heart of learning.