Old-timers talk about some frays, And they remember well those days! With cause all Russia fashions lays About Borodino! 1942

This print, made during the Second World War by the Russian collective Kukryniksy, depicts a brutal scene in stark colours, with the black sky emphasizing a single explosive moment. I can almost feel the quick, frantic strokes that brought these desperate figures to life. I think about the artist, or rather artists, who made this: Kukryniksy was the pen name of three caricaturists working together. I imagine them huddled together, bouncing ideas, energized and enraged, their pen nibs scratching furiously across the page. See the explosion and the way the impact splinters outward, fragmenting the wolves wearing Nazi helmets as they flee from a monument to Russian victory. It's a raw, visceral response to war, a battle cry rendered in ink and paper. It makes me think about Picasso's Guernica and other artists who make work to speak truth to power. But it’s also incredibly personal, made during a time of personal and collective anguish. Even now, generations later, artists continue to grapple with the same themes of conflict, identity, and memory, each adding their voice to this ongoing conversation.