Space Fish 1984

Oleksandr Aksinin made this strange drawing called 'Space Fish', at some point before 1985, when he sadly passed away. I can imagine him in his studio, perhaps in Lviv, carefully composing the image and letting this curious machine-like creature emerge through his pen strokes. There’s a definite precision to the linework but also a sense of surrealism and play. The artist’s hand seems to be mapping out imaginary worlds. It makes me think of Paul Klee, another artist interested in creating enigmatic forms full of wonder. Look at the way the fish shape contains geometric elements, maybe a nod to constructivism, floating cubes and what looks like a human figure, like an astronaut, all held together within this strange vessel. What could it all mean? I don’t know, but I enjoy the visual puzzle and the sense of an idea taking flight!