Freud 1981

Oleksandr Aksinin made this drawing, titled Freud, using ink on paper. It's a monochromatic piece, where the stark contrast between the solid black lozenge shape and the delicate grey drawing creates a feeling of both gravity and lightness. Look closely at the drawing emerging from the bottom of the black shape. It’s a figure built from patterns and repetitions, like a tapestry woven from subconscious thoughts. The ovoid shapes, the little lines, they remind me of the cellular structures you might see under a microscope. There's something so human in the imperfections of the repeated shapes. Each one is slightly different. You know, art is this ongoing conversation, right? Aksinin, with his intricate, almost obsessive mark-making, reminds me a little of Alfred Kubin, another artist who dove deep into the dreamlike world of the subconscious. Like Freud himself, Aksinin doesn't offer us easy answers, but rather invites us to wander through the labyrinth of the mind.