Rome-20 2020

Curator: Let’s have a look at Pavlo Makov's "Rome-20," an etching he created in 2020. It's a striking image, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: Yes, my immediate impression is of a delicate, almost dreamlike landscape. There’s a curious juxtaposition of precision and ethereality in the lines and shapes. Curator: Precisely. The medium is etching, which inherently involves a meticulous process. You're scratching into a surface, biting with acid, then layering ink. What draws me in is the social aspect – printmaking has always been a communal practice. From the initial preparation of the plate to the final printing, collaboration and skill-sharing are essential. The tools, the acid...these industrial elements are vital to its creation. Editor: It reminds me of a palimpsest, Rome layered with images as history accumulates meanings over time. Look at the small, evocative details, how these objects are connected with strong lines as though linking the past with an uncertain present. The title is there, in a script resembling antiquity, like an inscription on an ancient artifact. Curator: I’m particularly interested in how Makov integrates contemporary issues through traditional techniques. He masterfully transforms industrial labor and printmaking history into visual metaphors for a more contemporary exploration of urban change and possibly decay. Etching itself can be seen as an act of controlled degradation, revealing underlying truths through a process of controlled destruction. Editor: Destruction but also memory, and survival, of sorts. Each little image feels pregnant with symbolic significance, the suggestion of loss, longing. Curator: Consider too that etching allows for reproducibility, which can lead to wider dissemination and a lower intrinsic value of the art object. This challenges our ideas of preciousness in the art market and speaks volumes about accessibility in the context of commodification. Editor: Yet the details, even in reproduction, invite us to deeply contemplate individual stories, perhaps about the city's and also humanity’s complex narrative. I am compelled to create stories that link this series of images together. Curator: Looking at "Rome-20" in this context gives me a renewed understanding of how material constraints can influence and actually give freedom to creative production and give it layers of context that continue to unfold over time. Editor: For me, I will carry away this image and think of the continuous creation and destruction of myths and meanings that our cities evoke.