This original collage painting is devoted to resistance to Putin’s regime in Russia. The meaning has many layers and the longer story, if interested, can be found in the Blog section. Let me briefly explain what is depicted in the painting and what Xanthus is doing here.

The background has white and turquoise colours that form the shape of waves of a sea as well as clouds in the sky. Some white sticks have lines from DDT (Yuriy Shevchuk) song called Freedom.

On the top, there are three figures that symbolize (left to right) A. Sakharov, B. Nemtsov, V. Novodvorskaya. All of them are dead now. Under each of them, you can find quotes that to me are of the most important ones.

Under the legion of angels, there are political imprisoners, one of them is A. Navalny.

On the right, there is opposition from the cultural sector. First, the actress Liya Akhedzhakova, who was pushed to leave her theatre career after 60 years on the stage because all her roles were cancelled due to political reasons. Then, the leader of the DDT rock band Y. Shevchuk goes, who was always opposing Putin’s regimes and wars that Russia had. He went to Chechnya’s and Georgia’s front lines to support the boys that were thrown by officers to death. He saw the war and destruction it brings with his own eyes. He made a choice to stay in Russia during these hard times.

Next to him (to the left), you can find B.G., another Russian rock artist, who chose to leave Russia for political reasons.

And now, why Xanthus. Long story short. Xanthus was Aesop’s master. One day, when he Xanthus got drunk, he promised a stranger to drink up the sea, because human possibilities are endless. The next day, the stranger came back and brought witnesses to how Xanthus is going to drink up the sea. If Xanthus fails, he loses everything: his lands, house, wife, gold – everything. Xanthus got desperate and ask Aesop to help him to get out of the contract. Aesop gave him some advice to say that he was going to drink up the sea and only the sea, without any rivers that flow into it. If the crowd could separate one from the other, he was here to carry out his commitment.

All we know drinking up the sea is impossible. All the opposition that risk their lives is saying “Drink up the sea” to Putin’s regime. Drink up the sea.

16×20 in, framed

2023