Untitled 2022

Alevtyna Kakhidze made this untitled drawing using pens on paper in 2022, and its stark black lines against the white ground feel sharp, immediate. I get the sense of Kakhidze quickly working through some thoughts, almost like a visual note or a political cartoon. The contrast between the bags of currency and the people who are falling and lying on the ground is striking. In the upper right, the artist has added a bit of color, with the Russian and Kazakh flags rippling above a monument. Meanwhile, on the left, the figure seems to be arriving in the UK with money bags. You know, making a drawing like this feels like trying to distill big, complex ideas into something manageable. The act of drawing itself becomes a way of thinking through the events. Like, if you could just capture it right, you’d be able to figure it out. But it’s not a puzzle, you know? It’s more of a feeling.