Untitled. Srawberry Andreevna 2019

Alevtyna Kakhidze created this work with what looks like marker pen and collage. The directness of the materials contributes to its open and vulnerable quality. The figures are drawn with a naive hand, but the lines are sure and confident. I like the addition of blue wings to the figures on the left – it lends them an air of melancholy, as though they are burdened by a responsibility to care for those caught up in the complex and bureaucratic processes described in the text. The text itself seems to be collaged from a typed document; it's interesting how Kakhidze brings together drawing and writing in this way, giving equal weight to both forms of expression. I think about Nancy Spero when I see work like this. Both artists address serious subjects with an immediacy that bypasses any sense of formality. The use of simple materials helps them to avoid any kind of grandiosity, and to get straight to the point. Ultimately, it’s this directness that makes the work so compelling.