Untitled. Srawberry Andreevna 2019

This mixed-media artwork was made by Alevtyna Kakhidze, a contemporary artist from Ukraine. At first glance, it might seem like a collage, but I see it more like an intuitive, almost diaristic page. There's a lot going on. Texts that look like cut-outs from newspapers or magazines are pasted on the page. Boldly drawn figures stand amidst this chaos of information. The rawness of the line is striking. I imagine Kakhidze reaching for whatever was at hand – a ballpoint, a marker – and just letting it flow. I wonder, was she frustrated, angry, or simply trying to make sense of the world around her? Maybe all of the above. The juxtaposition of these carefully placed texts and those impulsive drawings creates an amazing tension, don’t you think? It reminds me of the kind of visual language artists like Hannah Höch and John Heartfield used to create. It's like she's in conversation with them.