Solemnity 2017

Editor: Here we have Vlada Ralko's "Solemnity" from 2017, created with ink and drawing on paper. It feels… weighty. There's this big, dark car shape and a small figure perched on top. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The weight you perceive is crucial. Ralko’s use of ink on paper foregrounds the very act of creation. Think about ink—it’s derived from plants or minerals, then processed. Here, that material process gives form to what seems to be a vehicle, a potent symbol of modern production and consumption. Note how this “car” overshadows the child. Editor: I see what you mean. It's not just a car, but a monument almost, to… something. What do you make of the pink tendrils coming from it? Curator: Those lines, emerging from what appears like blooming wounds in the vehicle, connect directly to the child. They disrupt our understanding of inside and outside. Are these veins, perhaps, or umbilical cords? What does it say about our social reality if even the seemingly disconnected *things* we consume remain intrinsically connected to human life? Are they wounds, showing a human dependency for this vehicle to exist? Editor: So it’s not just about the finished artwork, but all the messy steps and connections needed to make that object? It’s making me think about where things come from. Curator: Precisely. Ralko reminds us that things have histories and implications, highlighting production’s costs. Does contemporary art become "craft" when we examine it through production’s lens? Where are the seams between a child's drawing, an engineer’s plan, and Ralko's final product, especially when all utilize paper and ink? Editor: That's really changed my perspective. It’s much more than just a car and a figure; it’s a whole network of materials, labor, and meaning tangled up together. Curator: Absolutely, and by making us consider this process, Ralko provokes us to interrogate the real costs of our world’s artifacts.