Big Ficus 1976

Oleksandr Aksinin made this etching, Big Ficus, sometime before his death in 1985. Looking at this close-up, I can almost smell the acid he used to bite into the metal plate. There’s a world within a room, drawn in such intricate detail that it feels like peering into someone's dream. I imagine Aksinin hunched over his desk, his hand moving with the precision of a surgeon, each line a carefully considered decision. What was he thinking when he created this space? Was it a sanctuary, a prison, or something in between? The figures lurking around the edges remind me of Goya. I wonder if he ever saw this? It's as if Aksinin tapped into some collective unconscious, pulling out images that resonate with a deep, primal part of our being. You know, artmaking is like a conversation across time. Artists learn from, respond to, and riff off each other's ideas. In this way we keep the dialogue going, opening up new ways of seeing and understanding the world.