Exlibris of Y.Polovnickov 1976

This bookplate was made by Oleksandr Aksinin in 1976, and the etched lines create a mystical, slightly surreal world in pale green ink. I think he had an idea and just ran with it, letting it emerge through trial and error. I can imagine Aksinin hunched over the metal plate, carefully scratching away at the surface, making tiny marks, and adjusting his vision as he went. There’s a certain amount of trust involved in intaglio printing. The overall composition is so intriguing with its combination of geometric and organic shapes. A plane flies overhead. Below this, a crowd of tiny figures sits atop a doorway marked with a clock face, and a date, all framed by stylized trees. Looking at this I'm reminded of artists like William Blake, but with a distinctly modern sensibility. Aksinin’s image-making embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, inviting multiple interpretations. What does it all mean? Well, that’s up to you!