Exlibris Gugo Podushkina 1975

Curator: This is Oleksandr Aksinin’s "Exlibris Gugo Podushkina," created in 1975. The medium is engraving, a printmaking technique that really lends itself to detailed, linear work. Editor: My first impression is that this tiny print feels almost like a hidden world, fragile but also carefully constructed. I notice all of the careful detail that appears to have gone into carving all the lines into what looks like it may be copper plate. Curator: It’s interesting that you use the word "world". "Ex Libris" is Latin for "from the books," marking ownership, but the visual language Aksinin employs transforms this humble bookplate into a personal cosmogram. Look at the ladder to the cat-shaped cloud, like a spiritual ascension. The sleeping cat is such a loaded, resonant image across cultures. Editor: And think about the labour involved to make such intricate detail with the lines defining textures and depth. Given Aksinin was part of the Ukrainian underground art scene, I am curious as to what access he had to these specific materials. We need to think about how that impacted the possibilities for production. The domesticity of the image with the ladder, sleeping cat and what appears to be furniture is disrupted by its material execution. Curator: Exactly! The seeming simplicity of the subject contrasts sharply with the skill needed for the copperplate engraving process. I feel like Aksinin is playfully merging mundane everyday life – the book owner’s name is part of the design too, you’ll notice – with an esoteric realm through recognizable visual emblems. Editor: I also like how Aksinin has played with perspective and scale here to almost create something architectural within such a tiny square surface. Curator: Considering Aksinin's participation in unofficial art circles during Soviet times, "Ex Libris Gugo Podushkina" encapsulates much more than simply book ownership; it's a testament to a resilient creative spirit. Editor: Absolutely, and when you begin to think of the specific labor and its execution by his hand as something rebellious you can't help but get pulled in by Aksinin's ability to tell us more through its process than perhaps we'd first assumed from this artwork.