Item Summary

Description provided by artist:

"This work was commissioned by a perfume collector who requested a piece in my signature style, but with an emphasis on aroma. I recalled seeing Putin's signature perfume online, created in Russia. Inspired by this, I created a piece that exposes the thirst for power through political propaganda's creation of a totalitarian, impersonal society, reminiscent of the faceless soldiers in Alexander Volkov's Oorfene Deuce or the dystopian characters of Zamyatin and Orwell.

The painting depicted Putin without a military helmet, surrounded by identical figures. The collector declined the work, and it remained in my workshop for four years. With the onset of the full-scale war, the piece's significance grew. The addition of military paraphernalia in 2022 further emphasized my interpretation of the "Aroma of Power," portraying the bloody dictator of our time."

Oil on canvas.

Descriptive Information

Title
Scent of Power
Sort Title
scent of power
Creator of work
Dremov, Oleksandr
Language
Ukrainian
English
Date Created
2018 - 2022
Format
Paintings
Rights Statement
In Copyright

Discovery Information

Subject
Arts and culture
Artists
Arts
Politics and government
War
Geographic Subject
Ukraine
Geographic Origin
Ukraine

Physical Characteristics

Height
150
Width
110
Page Count
1
File Count
1

Institutional Information

Collection
Ukrainian Art in Times of War: 2014-
Princeton Slavic Collections
Box number
Digital Box 01
Folder number
Dremov_6
Barcode
000000000000000000
IIIF Manifest URL

https://figgy.princeton.edu/concern/ephemera_folders/a94c3ca3-b185-4af8-8191-d5c73e3d9dda/manifest