Untitled 2018

This untitled piece by Alevtyna Kakhidze uses simple materials and off-the-cuff mark-making to create a really touching image. The childlike aesthetic is deceptive because this work tackles some big subjects. The artist’s direct, diaristic approach is revealed in the notebook format and the way she applies coloured pencil to paper, filling in areas of colour with quick, directional strokes. This approach perfectly matches the intimacy of the subject matter. Each page is like a little stage for a thought experiment. What does it mean when Kakhidze declares, ‘My country was with no war, sorry you missed it,’ daubed on a heart shaped tag? That the artist chooses to employ dark humour in this piece reminds me of the graphic novelist, Alison Bechdel, and her ability to navigate complex familial relationships with frankness and wit. Art's capacity to deal with multiple perspectives and meanings simultaneously, I think, is what makes it so powerful.