Night (colour insert from Abracadabra) 2020

Pavlo Makov created this 151 x 120 cm artwork called Night, and it's got this crazy, scratchy surface, like he's been digging into the paper with his pencil, trying to find something hidden there. It makes me think about his process, you know? The way he's layered those marks, built up the darks and lights, it's like he's wrestling with the image, pulling it out of the shadows. And that aloe plant, or whatever it is, rising up in the middle, it's so strangely commanding and almost architectural. I wonder if Makov was thinking about growth and decay when he made this. The way the dark shades swirl around the plant, threatening to swallow it up, and what about these little buildings below? This piece reminds me of Goya's dark paintings but also feels futuristic. It's like he's inviting us to witness a secret conversation between life and death.