Description
By Alexander Timofeev, Russia.
Hidden within its chiaroscuro is a solemn, still atmosphere in this work by Russian artist Alexander Timofeev.
Buried in the unconscious and rising to the conscious is the modern challenge of man’s interior discourse. Such discourse is a contemporary phenomenon born of recent awareness since the advent of modern-day psychology.
Haunts of the brain emerge from shadows, confronting one another in what appears to be a futile or burdensome attempt at self-improvement. In this quietly gripping work, Alexander depicts his two leading inner voices personified as two young girls. These beautiful beings, intriguingly, possess aged features and an absence of youthful vitality. They appear wrought with exhaustion. One is calm and dissociated, while the other is brimming with anger and frustration that’s certain to violate the stillness that exists on the other side. There seems to be a complete breakdown of communication, as the imposing subject to the right finds herself unable to reach into the frozen complacency or numbness that appears in the closely aligned subject to the left.
A conflicted message has emerged from Alexander, who grew up in the shadow of famous artist parents. The impact of his training in repressive Soviet-Era academics creates a perfect display of technique that explodes into a vision of opposing, rebellious chaos.
Albeit personal, the emotional heaviness on both sides evokes sympathy for all forces involved.