Ei (a page from Abracadabra) 2020

Pavlo Makov created "Ei (a page from Abracadabra)", using an unidentified medium, as part of a series whose date is currently unknown. Makov, born in the Soviet Union in 1958, has spent his career creating works which speak to both the individual and the collective experience of living in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In this piece, the architecture resembles a schematic diagram, yet is populated by architectural structures which have a worn, almost ancient appearance. This tension between decay and design speaks to the complicated relationship between Eastern Europe and the West. The image is an alphabet, but also an architectural rendering. It’s a system for organizing space but also a collection of forms that evoke memory and loss. Consider the emotional weight of these images, and how the artist’s perspective might encourage us to question our own sense of place in a rapidly changing world.