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North Caucasus
A series that came about through a love for the 19th century Russian novels set in the North Caucasus Region and a subsequent trip I made to the Russian republics of Dagestan and Chechnya in December 2017. Writers such as Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov and Leo Tolstoy set their fiction in a highly romanticised, mountainous land that has become known as the Literary Caucasus. I wanted to see the North Caucasus Mountains for myself, beyond the romantic and somewhat stereotyped lands and cultures that the novels portray. These paintings mold the real-life, present day politics and culture around the fictionalised, literary past of this fascinating part of Russia.
The Wrestler (Passport). Oil on canvas. 120X90cm. 2018.
A Hero of Our Time. Oil on canvas. 250X167cm. 2018.
The Horns of The Bull. Oil on canvas. 188X208cm. 2018.
The Last Roof in Gamsutl'. Oil on canvas. 21.5X25cm 2018.
Introduction. Gouache on Paper. 42 x 59.4 cm. 2018.
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Brush and ink drawings made in the North Caucasus
Photographs from The North Caucasus
Paintings made in artists Masterclass in Makhachkala, Dagestan
oliver dorrell
