Euromaidan 2014

Alevtyna Kakhidze made this drawing, Euromaidan, with a steady hand, using ink on paper. It seems to me the artist had an intuitive sense of place and form as she committed to these lines. I imagine her standing somewhere, feeling the moment, then quickly noting the scene around her with sparse gestures. The forms feel solid, despite the loose linework. There are rudimentary classical architectural forms near makeshift barricades, an uneasy marriage of culture and conflict. I wonder about the speed of the artist’s hand, the pressure of the pen on the paper, the effort to translate what she saw and felt onto the page. The cross and signpost in the distance hint at the push and pull of national identity, and the way the artist notes this turmoil with a sort of poetic brevity reminds me of the work of Nancy Spero. All kinds of artists are in conversation across time, inspiring one another's creativity. Art embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations, so it is up to you to find your own meaning here.