The reminiscence (tryptych) 1990

Editor: This is Oleg Holosiy's "The Reminiscence (Triptych)," from 1990, a mixed media piece employing watercolor and drawing. It has a spectral quality, almost like figures emerging from memory. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see layers of cultural memory embedded in the visual language. Note the eyes at the top, a recurring motif that evokes surveillance, a silent witness. These disembodied eyes resonate with religious iconography, yet feel unsettling here. Editor: Unsettling how? Curator: Because the context is ambiguous. Are these eyes benevolent guides or oppressive forces? And below, the figures that could be mythical beasts, rendered with such fragile lines – they are part human, part animal... reminiscent of ancient folklore and shamanistic rituals, almost primordial. The cool colors emphasize the remoteness. Is it a vision, or is it a dream? Editor: I see it. They do seem to hint at something ancient. The placement in a triptych, is that significant? Curator: Absolutely. The triptych form itself borrows from religious art, usually depicting sacred narratives. By using this format, Holosiy invites us to contemplate a story unfolding across three panels. The connection between them remains elusive, leaving it to us to reconstruct its hidden cultural memory, connecting fragments of the unconscious and history. Editor: It’s fascinating how many possible interpretations emerge from these images. Curator: Indeed. It illustrates the powerful hold that symbolic imagery has, how it lingers within the cultural psyche and can be reactivated across different eras. Editor: It gives new weight to that phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”.