Apotheosis of Travel. Kingdom of the Absurd by Jonathan Swift 1978

Oleksandr Aksinin made this intricate etching, called Apotheosis of Travel. Kingdom of the Absurd, using the written work of Jonathan Swift. There’s this feeling of a strange machine—or a city—rendered with such care that you sense the hand of the artist in every line. Imagine Aksinin, bent over the plate, coaxing these forms into being with a fine needle, lost in a world of his own making. What was he thinking about as he made it? The texture is so detailed; the contrast is stark. Notice how the marks build up to create depth and shadow. Then there is this wheel emanating from the top that drips into the city below. In making this print, Aksinin wasn’t just illustrating a story but entering into a dialogue with it, offering his own interpretation of the absurd. He reminds us that art is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and inviting multiple interpretations.