Untitled 2022

Curator: This piece by Alevtyna Kakhidze, simply titled "Untitled" and created in 2022, appears to be a mixed media work on paper incorporating ink and textile elements. Editor: Exactly! It's impactful, using hand-lettering. The stark phrases layered across the paper create a really uneasy feeling. What jumps out at you? Curator: I'm struck by the deliberate act of inscription here. The artist uses readily available, almost disposable materials: paper, ink, perhaps even scraps of fabric. The process, the labor of hand-lettering those charged political statements... that becomes the central focus, doesn't it? Consider how this contrasts with mass-produced propaganda. Editor: It does! It’s like a deconstruction of propaganda... by hand. How does the context affect that? Curator: Hugely! This isn't just any lettering; it's a direct response to the war in Ukraine. Look at the phrase “Putin didn't create Russians – Russians created Putin." Kakhidze reframes the narrative around culpability, highlighting the collective responsibility. This moves the message away from mere sloganizing toward a critical, material engagement. It forces us to acknowledge the means of production, in both the artistic and the political sense. Do you see how this aligns with activist art? Editor: I see that connection clearly now. The work really implicates everyone involved, doesn’t it? It holds up a mirror, and forces one to be responsible for their decisions and impact. Curator: Precisely. It shifts the discourse from abstract politics to the very real, tangible actions that create political realities. It prompts us to consider how power is constructed and maintained, not through grand pronouncements, but through everyday choices, even the act of writing itself. What do you make of it? Editor: It’s like a raw, almost desperate plea for accountability, made even more potent by its humble materials. I never would have picked up on those layers before. Curator: Seeing the intersection of materials, message, and social context… that's key to understanding its power.