Collage from the book 'Bratyna' 2002

This collage, by Volodymyr Loboda, is from his book 'Bratyna'. It’s a striking image, isn’t it? Look at the shapes: red figures emerging from a stark black background, full of stark angles and sharp edges. Imagine Loboda at work, snipping away at pieces of paper, intuitively building up these characters. There’s a real tension between the figures and the ground they’re emerging from. I wonder what was going through his mind as he composed this scene. Are these characters in conflict? Or in conversation? Their gestures, the turn of a head, the reach of an arm – it all feels so deliberate and loaded with meaning. It reminds me of some of the German Expressionist woodcuts. There's a similar intensity and emotional rawness at play. Ultimately, it’s up to us to interpret and find our own connections to this work. It’s this ambiguity that keeps painting alive, I think.