Untitled 2022

Editor: Here we have Alevtyna Kakhidze's "Untitled" drawing from 2022, a complex work rendered in ink. My initial impression is of a visual diary, raw and emotionally charged. What symbols or layers of meaning do you see woven into this piece? Curator: It strikes me as a contemporary icon, a visual lament echoing the trauma of war. The comic strip format itself, traditionally a vehicle for lighthearted narratives, is subverted. Kakhidze uses its accessibility to convey a deeply unsettling reality, transforming mundane panels into powerful cultural artifacts of resistance. Do you see how the recurring motifs – the artist at her desk, the rubble, the text fragments – work together? Editor: Yes, the artist's struggle to find her voice juxtaposed against the devastation…it’s very poignant. What about the text, the handwritten notes scattered across the page? They seem quite personal. Curator: Indeed. These annotations are like the inscriptions on reliquaries, lending an intensely personal dimension to the narrative. They collapse the distance between the event and the viewer, urging us to bear witness. The phrase "One more Kyiv artist put aside his brushes and took up a gun," transforms the individual act of resistance into a broader symbol of cultural defiance. The black cat motif, placed next to the female portrait, may represent luck or perhaps even something sinister given the dark and unsettling situation, and could reflect the common person’s anxieties and concerns about family, community and hope for protection during this challenging time. Does the style or the technique employed evoke specific emotional or historical echoes? Editor: It reminds me a bit of social realism but with a very contemporary twist… almost like a visual blog. Curator: Precisely. She leverages familiar forms—the comic, the blog post—to embed a powerful historical narrative in our collective consciousness, like modern-day hieroglyphs for future generations to interpret. It definitely creates new memories with enduring meanings for both current and future reflection. Editor: It’s fascinating how she reclaims such familiar formats to amplify such a powerful and immediate message.