Philippe Charles Jacquet: Kharkov

Philippe Charles Jacquet: Kharkov
oil on canvas
(http://pcjpaint.free.fr/armada.htm)
no copyright infringement intended

I'm trying to keep my word, to bring here some works of Philippe Charles Jacquet and I chose this image to begin. It is part of his cycle of Cargos (Le cargo, "les déchus"), and I was attracted by the story behind the story this oil suggests: what could be the relation between the huge cargo and the small boat? Maybe coexistence, maybe mutual misunderstanding and potential conflict, or maybe just they are ignoring each other: each one in its own universe, with its own values. What would be the outcome in case of a conflict? At a first thought the answer seems obvious. However, behind the apparent strength of the cargo it could be a process of decay. Is it Kharkov still alive, or rather the ghost of a bygone era?

On the other hand, the whole story unfolds over a sea on extremely low tide (like all stories depicted by Jacquet), which places both cargo and boat in a dissolute universe: any cooperation or conflict has no more sense, history has ended, we are in the ever after.

And speaking about Kharkov, maybe this is what  happens now in that country in full conflict between East and West: history has passed, it is the ever after.


(Jacquet)