Pope's Exile Print

Influenced - most likely - by on-foot exploration of Philadelphian suburbs, malls and wildlife, staying with more family than ever before, observing and processing immigrant communities and life, binge-watching Mr. Robot at a living room dining table, and daily binging war updates.. Artwork is a part of a[n implied] "Kyiv-Philly" series that happened after (and became in my mind a marker of) the beginning of full-scale russian aggression against Ukraine in late Feb 2022 and the reality that followed. I dislike the idea of "war art" - and this isn't art About the war - this is a vicarious product of processing, reflecting, distracting oneself, only inevitably influenced by surreal in their horrifying nature events. When suddenly leaving Kyiv in February, all the physical originals of years of drawings/illustrations/paintings had to be left behind, with no certainty about when I'll be able to return to them or if they'll still be there. The work and the series aren't exactly a fresh start, but are [in my mind's eye] a start to a different (in a not fully clear and decided way), more refined & mature period. A noteworthy remark, applicable to the majority of my works - I very rarely draw with a set in advance idea, subject, story in mind, therefore results are unexpected even for me and I can (although usually I don't feel the need to) analyze the meaning in retrospect, similar to trying to make sense of a dream. Viewers are more than welcome to find their own meaning or make personal associations if they feel inclined to do so, or simply observe visual qualities without assigning any meaning at all if it feels forced. Drawing is done with a fountain pen on a 17.8 x 25.4 cm 160gsm paper.