On Feb. 23, the eve of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, the exhibition “Diaries of Time” by sculptor Mikhail Reva opened at Odesa’s Union Cultural Centre. Reva, a very well-known artist and beloved by the Odesans, has dedicated his production in recent years to the representation of the suffering and horrors of war with very evocative objects.
Since the Russia’s full-scale invasion began, pieces of exploded ammunition, missiles or drones, and wreckage of vehicles destroyed by the war have been collected for him from all over Ukraine. With those items he has composed dragons, crosses, pierced hearts and many other sculptures that recall very strong images, often drawing on Judeo-Christian- religious symbolism.
In the presence of businessmen, diplomats and intellectuals who have remained in Odesa, notwithstanding the war, the artist showed his drawings and paintings – especially the large work that is the highlight of the exhibition: “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
“I wrote a work earlier this year. It is called ‘Armageddon.’ The first time I was supposed to come and create something positive, but I had conceived this idea long ago,” Reva said.
“Pieced Hart” by Mikhail Reva. Photo: Ugo Poletti
The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament and represent: conquest, war, famine and death. In the Book of Revelation, they are associated with the end of the world and the coming of God’s judgment. Few people know that some theories suggest the existence of a fifth horseman, who is not found in the traditional biblical text.
One interpretation of a fifth horseman is the representation of pestilence, as a separate entity along with conquest, war, famine and death. The underlying idea is that pestilence and disease have played a significant role in history and can be seen as a form of divine punishment. Another theory considers the fifth horseman as the culmination of the chaos and devastation caused by the previous four horsemen, representing the collapse of order and civilization in the face of apocalyptic events.
The Ukrainian artist adopted this symbol in his artwork:
“Here, four horsemen are united in a single image: war, death, famine, and disease,” he said. “But as I was preparing for this work, I did some reading and discovered that there is a fifth: absolute competition. This is smart. Even when nothing living remains, it turns into this dreadful stench. And when everything comes to an end, all that remains is... emptiness triumphing.”
This mysterious story contained in the most cryptic book of the Bible has already been used in cinema, literature, and popular culture. In Reva’s painting, considering also its large size, this apocalyptic subject becomes a sort of “Guernica” (Picasso’s masterpiece dedicated to the Spanish Civil War), but about the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Mikhail Reva (L) and Igor Mendelevich (R) standing in front of “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” Photo: Ugo Poletti
Mikhail Reva’s studio is a destination for visitors to Odesa, such as patrons, journalists, diplomats. The last one was an entrepreneur from Genoa, Igor Mendelevich, whose ancestors were among the richest merchants in the city, among other things owners of the “Passage,” the monumental gallery in Odesa. He, too, having returned to the city of his origins, which he had heard so much about from his father who had fled during the Bolshevik revolution, could not avoid visiting the sculptor’s studio.
Reva’s relationship with Italy is a very deep one, although he has also exhibited his works in other European countries and in North America. His dream is to exhibit in Rome, next July, at the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, organized by the Italian government. He tells us that there are negotiations underway with one museum. “Let’s cross our fingers” as they say to ward off bad luck.
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