The painting “The Flesh of War” shows the world map desired by every conqueror …and symbolizes the binary opposition of oppressing and oppressed sides of Mankind. The artwork consists of two parts showing the continents which are the reflections of each other (and the unified whole at the same time): on one of them the shells are directed to the viewer, on the other - from him. Such position of shells shows the division of mankind on those shooting and those being shot. But as we can see, the aggressors and victims reside on the same continents, in the same countries and towns and they made of one and the sale flesh – biologically they show integrity. When we shoot – we shoot into the same ones, which is also true in terms of karma. The only difference between the shooter and the victim is that they are on different sides of shell.
The right side of diptych shows the continents of planet at night. They burst with lights of civilization. This part of the painting looks more affluent and sophisticated, because luxury is an integral trophy of conqueror, and many of his actions live in the shadows. The artwork also involves the gender issue in terms of war history. Geographic outlines of maps are made in the forms of women slightly turned to one another. The female image is not homogenous here and gives many symbols to the picture:
1) The woman is a muse inspiring the man for acts of bravery in order to win her heart;
2) The woman is a war trophy whose body causes animal desire of the conqueror;
3) The woman is Mother-Earth, being harmed ecologically by wars and military actions, whose flesh in emotionless political game transformed from Holy Life Cradle only into strategic territories, subject to expansion and resource unit;
4) The woman is a Mother who is always the hostage of war. Because at the very end, the women suffer the most from wars by losing their sons. The grief of women losing their sons-conquerors does not differ from grief of women losing sons-defenders. In both cases the lives they gave are lost.