Hexagram 54 1985

Editor: So, this is Oleksandr Aksinin's "Hexagram 54," a print from 1985. The use of etching in monochrome feels so precise, yet the overall image has this dreamlike quality. What strikes me is how theatrical it seems, almost like a stage set. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It’s funny you say 'theatrical', because I feel like Aksinin is staging a silent opera. The fan, clearly central, becomes this odd, almost grotesque figure, burdened perhaps, by the dancing… limbs? I see that hexagram, or rather the symbols mimicking one, at the base, grounding what might otherwise float away entirely. And the sea! Or is it rain? Or maybe tears. Look closer. Editor: I see what you mean! It does look like a figure, especially with the suggestion of dancers on top. What about those almost illegible inscriptions? Do you think they play a role in the symbolism? Curator: Ah, the delicious uncertainty! It is tempting to interpret, to translate… but maybe their real power lies in remaining just out of reach. We only get fragments of meaning. Do you think this obscurity, this very privacy, allows for a richer interpretation, more of our own selves to be invested in it? Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way! I guess I'm used to searching for definite answers. The idea that some art thrives in the unspoken, that's really interesting. Curator: Exactly. It is about accepting the ambiguities, revelling in what is only felt, only glimpsed, like dreams fading as you awaken, and isn’t that often how we come to better know ourselves? Editor: I never expected a simple print to be so… introspective. Thank you for showing me a different perspective!