Russian Culture III , Collages for 2022 Christmas, 2022
colored paper, book/magazine cutouts, felt tip pens
“This collage is a black and white painting by Nikolai Ge, depicting Peter the Great interrogating his son. As with Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great also killed his son. Some things never change. The caption in the book said that this painting is the symbol of old backward Russia meeting new enlightened Russia, which to me seemed ridiculous, so I put a third party that completes the circle of absurdity – Hitler. There, now it is Peter the Great, Tsarevich Alexei, and the Fuhrer. By the way amidst the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has compared himself to Peter the Great. It shows how imperialism of Russia is passed from generation to generation and I see no big difference between Hitlers’ concept of Lebensraum and Russia trying to control all of its neighbors. About the series: As the year 2022 was the year of the war in Ukraine, the biggest full-scale war since world war two, I had real doubts about my usual artistic practice of oil painting. I suddenly felt that painting is of no use now because simple protest poster has more meaning now, and most importantly – more power.”
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