The Game, 2024

Oleksandra Hrebelna  

Stretched (on stretcher bars): 120х100x2cm
Materials: acrylic\oil pastel on canvas\metal leaf
Shipping: rolled

In the painting "The Game", I explore social interaction as a constant intellectual duel. It is from this exploration that the entire philosophy of the *Anima Animus* series springs—a search for the subtle, almost imperceptible boundary where the rational human mind meets its wild, instinctive nature.
From childhood, we are taught to view play as something lighthearted or frivolous, yet in reality, social interaction is always a complex, multi-layered game of chess. It is not merely an interpersonal dialogue, but a continuous process of dance and confrontation: between partners, between external social roles, and, above all, between one's own consciousness and one's inner beast. In this work, I deliberately shift the emphasis from the outcome to the very experience of the moment. The outcome of the game is undoubtedly significant, but the true drama unfolds within the process itself. As the French sociologist Roger Caillois wrote while analyzing the nature of games, “A game is a space of freedom defined by strict rules, within which a person attains the absolute fullness of being."  In “The Game," the key driving force is a fascination with intellect—that purest spark of thought, the ability to lead, anticipate, take risks, and sense the context one step ahead. It is an immersion into archetypal dynamics, where human culture and animal instinct do not destroy one another but engage in an exhilarating communication, full of tension and beauty, revealing the hidden layers of our psyche.