Neighbourhood #10 2018

Pavlo Makov made this etching, Neighbourhood #10, with ink and paper, sometime around 2018. Look at how the buildings and street plans unfold like some kind of fantastical map. I imagine Makov hunched over a table, carefully etching away at the plate, building up layers of detail with incredible precision. It's almost architectural in its rendering, yet there’s something dreamlike about the way the structures relate to each other, as if they might be shifting and changing like memories. The lines create a texture that's almost palpable. You can feel the weight of each mark. It reminds me a little of Piranesi's architectural fantasies, but with a more personal, intimate scale. There’s a tension here between order and chaos, control and freedom, that makes me think about the way we construct our own sense of place and belonging. It's as if Makov is inviting us to wander through his own mental landscape, and maybe, to discover something about our own.