Untitled 2022

Alevtyna Kakhidze made this drawing with felt tip pens on paper. I can imagine her feeling totally powerless, like, what can one do? So she picks up a pen. Look at these figures: the person sitting down seems shocked; they are drawn with just a few lines. What might she be feeling as she is drawing? A state of shock, of terror, of speechlessness, of rage, of grief. There is an urgent quality to the drawing, as though Kakhidze cannot pause or spend too long on one particular detail. She is not making an artwork, she is making a record. A red bubble conveys a scream or a shout. This drawing has something in common with other artists making work about war. It is a conversation, in which artists reach across time and space.