Untitled. Srawberry Andreevna 2018

Curator: Here we have "Untitled. Strawberry Andreevna," a work on paper from 2018 by Alevtyna Kakhidze, rendered in ink and textile. It appears to be a double-page spread from a handmade book. Editor: Oh, this feels like stumbling upon a secret map! It's scrawled and playful, a bit chaotic, and invites you to decode some kind of personal geography. What are those words scattered about? It almost looks like handwritten directions... Curator: The piece evokes the rich history of artist books as tools for social commentary and personal expression. The hand-lettered text, a mix of what appears to be Russian script, along with the casual lines, reminds me of the work of other Eastern European conceptual artists grappling with themes of memory and place after the fall of the Soviet Union. We see words like “Pension,” "Strawberry," “Friends,” “Market,” scattered seemingly at random. Editor: Right, the scattering suggests an intentional disruption, refusing a simple, linear narrative. I get a distinct sense of journey, both literal and metaphorical. That exclamation point on the pink page—is it pointing the way, or a warning perhaps? It's all so ambiguous. What kind of map relies on questions? And 'Friends'? The new Strawberry house...? It all builds a sense of... yearning. Curator: Perhaps yearning, but also a quiet defiance. There's an inherent political dimension when personal narratives, especially those of women, are given visibility within oppressive societal structures. Kakhidze reclaims agency through mapping her inner landscape. The simplicity of materials, ink on paper and textile, reinforces this notion of artmaking as an accessible act of resistance, regardless of her social background or financial means. The strawberries and house and dog become points of cultural resistance in their own right. Editor: Absolutely! There is a real tenderness that bubbles up from all the apparent confusion. I imagine her carefully printing each character in ink, adding details from memory, each phrase building the layers of shared experience and, yes, resistance. Like an artistic version of a samizdat! This is great stuff! Curator: Indeed, Alevtyna Kakhidze offers us a window into a subjective world, reminding us of the power of art to chart our individual and collective experiences against the backdrop of socio-political realities. Editor: For me, this feels like an intimate message in a bottle—urgent, whimsical, and beautifully imperfect.