Rome-19 2020

Curator: Pavlo Makov’s "Rome-19," created in 2020, is a contemporary drawing rendered with ink and print techniques. It’s a fascinating landscape, seemingly simple at first glance. What’s your initial reaction? Editor: Bleak. Starkly geometric amidst organic decay. The severe lines juxtaposed against the blotchy, grainy texture create an unsettling tension, a controlled chaos, I want to explore this piece through the lens of institutional power, perhaps the architecture dominating the environment. Curator: Exactly! Makov’s work often explores urban spaces and their intersection with control and decay. Considering the title, "Rome-19," made during the pandemic, and his connection to Ukrainian architecture, we might explore how imposed structure fares against the organic resistance. What does this imagery tell us about the global response to crisis? Editor: The landscape almost seems to be under surveillance. Everything is measured, accounted for. Do those lines symbolize networks of power, the artist’s mapping, or external governance imposing limitations upon community? Or a personal mapping of a personal crisis against societal unrest? Curator: Perhaps all of the above. We know how institutions are shaped, how governments impose on urban design. It seems we must analyze imposed limitations for the individual but also those projected onto a population during Covid. We might understand his architecture from an architectural standpoint, too. Considering the material choices – the precise ink drawings alongside less controlled printing methods – reinforces this struggle. The lack of color only emphasizes that austerity. Editor: Indeed, the line work reminds me of surveillance blueprints, yet the organic imperfections disrupt the totalizing gaze, creating an opening for counter-narratives. It speaks of potential societal collapse and human resistance, both the individual and collective. A glimmer of hope amongst despair? Curator: Hope might be a strong word. This drawing acknowledges the complexities of surviving imposed frameworks of power in times of crises. Looking at "Rome-19" reminds us how those power struggles are ever shifting between restriction and resilience. Editor: Yes. And art like this holds a mirror to that struggle.