SOCIAL AND ARTISTIC DISCOURSE OF ROMAN MININ'S DIPTYCH «ESCAPE PLAN FROM THE DONETSK REGION»

Abstract

The article examines one of the key works of the modern Ukrainian artist Roman Minin – the diptych «The Plan of Escape from Donetsk Region». Roman Minin's work is a significant and unique phenomenon in Ukrainian contemporary art. Since the beginning of the 2000s, he has been representing Ukraine on the international art scene. However, the stages of formation of the artist’s method have not yet been deeply analysed. This determined the relevance of the research topic. In Roman Minin's work, social aspects are very closely intertwined with the artistic method, forming a specific socio-artistic discourse. The artist is a native of Donbas and his work is closely connected with it. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Donetsk region was the centre of the coal industry in Ukraine, but faced a serious economic and social crisis. The author was born and grew up in a mining environment, and the works of R. Minin are one of the forms of knowledge and understanding of the Donbas. In «The Plan of Escape from Donetsk Region» the artist raises the problem of the internal migration process, which led to low living standards and the impossibility of resisting the circumstances that have historically developed in the mining region. The article uses materials from interviews w ith the artist, published in 2013–2019. After examining the diptych «The Plan of Escape from Donetsk Region» in comparison with earlier works, it is proved that the diptych underwent a transformation of artistic techniques towards graphic simplification, symbolic images became more schematic. Using a metaphorical language and an exquisite arsenal of his own symbols, the author enters into a dialogue with the viewer, creating connection between the artist and society.