Tripple Self-Portrait 1991

Editor: So, here we have Oleg Holosiy's "Tripple Self-Portrait," made in 1991, a charcoal drawing. It feels intense, almost haunted. What do you see in this piece, looking at it as an iconographer? Curator: The repetition immediately strikes me. Three faces, rendered in stark charcoal, suggest not just identity but a fractured self, a multiplicity contained within one being. In many traditions, the number three holds spiritual significance, representing a trinity or a cycle. Consider, too, the dripping charcoal at the base. Does this evoke tears? The fragility of the self? What do these rivulets suggest to you? Editor: I hadn't thought of them as tears exactly, but more as a kind of disintegration, the self dissolving. Given the date, 1991, the fall of the Soviet Union... could it relate to that, the collapse of a larger identity mirroring an individual one? Curator: Precisely! Holosiy was working in a time of immense societal upheaval. The crumbling of established structures invariably forces individuals to re-evaluate who they are. Do you think the blurred lines of the faces contribute to a sense of instability? The eyes, for instance, aren't clearly defined, making it harder to connect. Editor: Absolutely. It's unsettling, not being able to meet the gaze. It's like the artist is searching for himself but can't quite grasp it. This makes me consider identity as something constructed and also how powerfully external factors affect one’s self perception. Curator: Holosiy offers us a potent symbol of selfhood in transition, a testament to the enduring power of the iconographic, the power of images to resonate across time and circumstance. Editor: I see what you mean. The cultural weight definitely adds another layer to it. Thank you!