Artem Volokitin was born in 1981. He lives and works in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, home to 1.4 million people and less than 20 miles from the Russian border. Kharkhiv was therefore an obvious target for the invading forces. Last Sunday, Russian troops entered the city and started bombing it to the ground. We know the strategy, we have seen it in Aleppo. And in Chechnya before then.
In response to the upheavals of 2014, the so called Revolution of Dignity, the subject matter of Volokitin work shifted from the depiction of the human figure to that of violent explosions. In this picture, he has applied raging tongues of fire to a printed background that is reminiscent of Dürer. The juxtaposition between the explosion and the sky creates a disquieting mood that is suspended somewhere between the tragic reality of today's Ukraine and classical myth.
I have looked for an instagram account so I could credit his work. I found this, but the only post dates back 113 weeks. I hope Artem and his loved ones are safe.
Artem Volokitin
Irreversible Beauty - I, 2014