Untitled 2022

Alevtyna Kakhidze made this drawing in Kyiv Oblast in 2022, during a very difficult time for Ukraine. The artist uses simple black outlines and flat planes of colour in red, yellow, and blue. We see a figure sheltering inside, under the night sky, while another figure stands outside, next to the American flag. A block of text describes the circumstances under which the artwork was made, but also feels like part of the image. You can almost imagine the artist adding each layer, shifting things around, trying to find the right composition. I wonder what it was like to make this drawing. What was Kakhidze feeling and thinking about as she was making it? It's like the artist is directly speaking to us, in a stream of consciousness, but also to the American president. But what is so striking, also, is how a drawing like this connects to a whole tradition of political cartoonists and outsider artists who, throughout time, have used art to bear witness.