Tablecloth V “Anatomical sketch” 2009

Pavlo Makov created "Tablecloth V ‘Anatomical sketch’", of no specified date, with dimensions of 160 by 120 cm. It resembles a stained and used tablecloth, with an abstracted anatomical sketch and arrangements of forks. Makov was born in St. Petersburg, but raised in Ukraine. He confronts the viewer with an intimate, everyday object, a tablecloth, made suggestive of both domesticity and the aftermath of shared meals. The anatomical sketch hints at the body, perhaps reflecting on the ways we consume and are consumed by our environments and societal structures. The arrangement of forks may imply order and control, but also suggests the potential for disruption. The stains on the fabric speak of life lived, of spills and mishaps, and of the messiness inherent in human experience. It prompts us to reflect on our own relationships with food, bodies, and the often-unacknowledged labor of those who set the table.