1993

Kourtev’s Untitled 1993 cycle is one that appears to be about repetition of the self that is atemporal and aspatial. The pieces each contain the same figures, most often in groupings of four, arranged differently each time. The varying composition of these figures is the crux of the solidity of the self, but the unsolidity of others to the self. Where in one piece groups of two stand opposite to groups of another, allowing for a balance of power, in other pieces three figures confront one, or two figures seem to sneakily speak to one another so far out of ear shot that the remaining two figures cease to exist. In these cases, there is an uneven power dynamic, even with the same selves appearing across all their depictions. The shifting colour palettes, and colour arrangements, of this cycle also add to Kourtev’s selves that are not bound to any space but the mind and body. The shifting colours appearing to indicate shifting time and shifting space, perhaps even emotional shift. Across all time, across all “where”s, the self remains a constant.