Untitled 2022

Curator: This is an "Untitled" work by Alevtyna Kakhidze, created in 2022. It appears to be a mixed-media piece, combining drawing, collage, and textile elements on paper, predominantly using ink and pen. The linework has the look of brush and pen, alongside hand-lettering, to build a loose narrative. Editor: My initial impression is of raw vulnerability and anxious energy. The sketch-like quality, with the hand-lettered text strewn across the page, gives it the feel of a frantic personal message, made more intense by the juxtaposition of innocence of some childlike figures of people and animals, with what looks like an underlying context of the grim political and military reality, conveyed in the lettering. Curator: Indeed. Looking closely, one notes that the materials used--simple paper, pen, and ink--belie the profound emotional weight conveyed. There’s no overt attempt at refinement or polish, which I believe accentuates the directness and urgency of the message, allowing its message of social awareness and even activism to resonate more deeply. Editor: Absolutely. It immediately makes me consider the power dynamics at play. The phrase "Russians Attack…" seems to point towards a dialogue about the current socio-political context of Ukraine war, with consideration as to who in Russia, whether merely the political establishment alone or all Russians as people, carries the blame for starting the said war. The questions the artist pose with reference to that are important because of they call us to consider what kind of power structure and what role does personal and collective responsibility plays within that, also the line of I am too stressed of / sleeping in my callax each night" is clearly about anxiety related to air strikes and the constant presence of a war and sounds of bombardments on the horizon. The drawings are of ordinary people and the dogs who seem anxious of possible 'thunder' of bombardment in the near future. This drawing is social commentary with reference to war experience, yet with a degree of abstraction that does not lend the whole subject of discussion towards blatant propaganda either. Curator: I find the artist's choice to use handwritten text particularly compelling. It blurs the boundaries between fine art and vernacular forms of communication like journaling and protest art. The red ink highlighting the line 'if he is thunder way' creates the emphasis and accent on the emotional rawness. In addition, I also think, one should notice the production itself - I mean like what impact can paper quality or the choice of specific inks have, what’s the labor to put these together. Editor: And thinking more of the social impact - like it encourages discussion about representation, victimhood, collective culpability of war atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine. How can it provoke conversation about political responsibilities during war? These are powerful questions rooted within the image, even if rendered simply on paper with pen and ink. Curator: Yes, ultimately this is where this artwork generates interest by being immediate and visceral. The apparent rawness masks, to me, the sophistication about its underlying construction, and even its reproduction from basic everyday means and media, to construct a certain social message with certain power and directness, both from artistic means and with its final political agenda to push for. Editor: Precisely. This piece demonstrates how art can reflect not just individual experience but serve as an incisive and often agonizingly important commentary and a tool for action and awareness.