Untitled 2022

Editor: This drawing, "Untitled" by Alevtyna Kakhidze, created in 2022, uses coloured pencils to present what seems to be a map of sorts. I'm struck by the stark contrast between the abstract rendering of "Bucha" as a large, almost overwhelming red blob and the simplified figure representing the artist. It’s…unsettling. What catches your eye in this work? Curator: Unsettling is a great word for it. To me, it’s a poignant reminder of distance and proximity, rendered with brutal simplicity. The “47 min by car” seems so matter-of-fact, almost banal, against the backdrop of what Bucha has come to represent. It feels like an attempt to quantify the unquantifiable – the gap between personal safety and unspeakable trauma. Have you considered the implications of the red blob? Editor: Well, red often signifies danger or violence. But also, maybe, passion or strong emotion? The scale of it is just so dominating compared to the artist's figure. It makes the distance feel more psychological than physical. Curator: Exactly! Kakhidze uses the coloured pencil in a deceptive way. It looks childlike and vulnerable but under that is an extremely mature sense of understanding trauma in society. Is she creating an emotional map, charting the internal landscape of someone grappling with events in Ukraine? How does that 'distance' affect you, do you think, the viewer? Editor: I guess it makes me feel implicated. Like I’m also at that "Me" point, observing from a distance, and perhaps not fully grasping the enormity of what's happening. Curator: Yes, the artist has turned a drawing into something more. It questions your own positioning with this 'Me' in relation to large-scale horror somewhere else, and it has struck a chord, a deeply important one. Editor: That's given me a lot to think about. I initially saw a simple map, but it’s so much more complex than that – a powerful commentary on distance, trauma, and responsibility. Curator: Precisely, and that is what powerful art does; opens unexpected and moving layers of thought and reflection.