Cuts | Maria Plotnikova

Ongoing project “Cuts”

Berlin, Germany — Llorenç del Penedes, Catalonia. 2021-2022

Oil on canvas, acrylic on plywood, ink and watercolor on paper

The project began in Berlin, where four months before the start of the Russian-Ukrainian full-scale war, I created the first painting. It depicts a figure with a hand truck who is picking up skulls, either in a museum or in a supermarket. It is difficult for me to explain to myself why this image came to me. Perhaps it happened through the influence of the news that constantly appeared at the time and fueled my anxiety, or because of an unconscious premonition of the terrible inside, but the artwork became prophetic. I was in Kyiv during the first day of the war, after which I left Ukraine for Catalonia, where CeRCCa art residency provided me with shelter.

During the first two months, I could not work because I could not understand and accept that a full-scale war was going on in my country. The mere thought of the possibility of war was overwhelming, and the collective pain too deep. Based on this immensity, the "Cuts" project began. The works from this project try to manifest the experience that I and other Ukrainians are currently experiencing and to break down this indescribable, all-encompassing pain into smaller parts. I hope that in this way it will become more available to be comprehended.

Disposition

2022, 100x150 cm,

oil on canvas