"Tibetan Diary"

In December 2022, a contemporary Ukrainian artist, Andriy Bludov, presented his works at the personal exhibition "Tibetan Diary" at the Vakulenko Art Center. This project is a kind of allusion to individual elements of the philosophy of the Tibetan tradition and its opposition to the "western" worldview.

According to Andrii, this was his only trip to Tibet, in the summer of 2014, which left an impression on his mind and had a qualitative impact on his further artistic practice. His aspiration is to explore the embodiment, to find answers to important questions for him, to understand how the dichotomy of opposition between Chaos and Order can dissolve into something bigger.

The leading theme of the project is spiritual values, philosophical concepts, which are addressed through painting. The artist experiments and combines the traditional painting style with silk-screen printing and calligraphy, creating a complex compositional space. The increased contrast of light and shadow, the variety of angles and the departure from the frontal image of the main images gives room for the construction of one's own interpretations.

In silhouette, parallels can be drawn between the events of modern Ukrainian history and the key stages of the political history of Tibet, in particular, the loss of independence in 1951 or the brutally suppressed attempt of the Tibetan uprising by the Chinese army. Thus, Tibet is not only a place of spiritual power, but also a place brought out of harmony by historical events.

The author of the text

Art historian, Inna Kalenska