Elephant and sun 1991

Editor: This is "Elephant and Sun" by Oleg Holosiy, created in 1991 using mixed media, including oil paint. I'm struck by how dreamlike and slightly unsettling it feels, like a memory fading at the edges. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Well, considering the socio-political climate of 1991, as the Soviet Union was dissolving, Holosiy’s surrealist imagery could reflect the era’s anxieties and uncertainties. The elephant, traditionally a symbol of wisdom and stability, is juxtaposed with the ambiguous sun and the unsettling facial figures. Do you see this disjunction at all? Editor: Yes, now that you point it out, there is an inherent tension between those elements. The elephant's trunk almost seems to be piercing the face beside it, which seems...violent. The warm promise of the sun fights with the cold faces...Was Holosiy commenting on power dynamics within the crumbling Soviet system? Curator: It's quite possible. The artist might have been questioning the ideals of the past (wisdom, stability - the elephant), as they clashed with the emergence of a new, and potentially turbulent, era. Think about the institutional power structures collapsing. Do you see any other symbolism which you'd interpret differently now? Editor: Perhaps the abstract background represents the chaos, but that reading makes the whole piece a bit bleak...still it definitely underscores the instability of the time. Curator: It does move the interpretation to a specific context, rather than the individual, maybe. Editor: It’s amazing how much history can be embedded within the visual language of art! Curator: Precisely. It teaches us that looking at art can act as a mirror reflecting society back at us.