«WATERLOO»
2001-2002, oil and golden foil on canvas, 165x180 cm, 66x72 in

The second work of series «EUROPE - THE LAST 300 YEARS»

QUESTION: Waterloo - it is “Waterloo Bridge”, like in the film?
ANSWER: That is exactly how girls understand it... Do you notice an interesting detail - we say “in Russia” to mean this country as opposed to “in Europe”? Thus on a hunch we do not consider ourselves to be Europeans! Certainly we are not Asians, for that is insulting for us, but still we are not Europeans.
QUESTION: But what about Waterloo? 200 years have passed...
ANSWER: Waterloo is lost hope, defeat - our defeat, mine and yours, charming girl...
QUESTION: Why “our” defeat?
ANSWER: Because with your national passport you cannot go any farther than Belarus, with its provincial plebeian dictator - you need to get an international passport, visa etc...
QUESTION: The rudiments of communism and the iron curtain...
ANSWER: Even worse. There is another reason – the dark, criminal, poor Russian backwoods, the criminal Caucasus. What if crowds from there arrive without any control in Bruges, for example - what will happen to this Andersen’s fairytale? Or to Milan, Munich? They will hardly work, but they certainly will eat and drink...
QUESTION: Thus first of all we need to equalize the social level?
ANSWER: Too late. This will never be done...
QUESTION: But still, what about Waterloo?
ANSWER: Well, what is the first thing you can say about Napoleon?
QUESTION: That he was a great commander.
ANSWER: Yes. But today his deeds are perceived as cinematic buffoonery - sending in the lancers, firing a volley of grapeshot... After all - it is professionalism. What else? He made a fantastic career. This sounds better, for it is more socially adapted to our pragmatic time. Moreover, he was a great mathematician and easily mentally multiplied and divided figures up to 11 numerals...
We are interested in another thing... “I’m not fighting against Russia or Britain. I’m fighting for a united Europe. Armies will be disbanded (sorry - he said “reduced to His Majesty’s Guards”; this was the 19th century), customs checks will be abolished, goods will move without borders around the continent”. This is the point! We talk about his talent, his predictive talent: a united Europe, “Pan-European”... His words were forgotten for 200 years. And during these 200 years Europeans killed and raped each other before they finally understood the idea... From this perspective even Wellington or Kutuzov are children... What period was the best for Europe? Supposedly the year 1811, the peak of the Napoleonic era - shortly before 1812, the catastrophe in Russia. 600,000 perfect European virile men haven’t yet frozen to death under the snows of Russia, the pompous Empire style fills the whole continent with gold... “I’m not fighting against Russia or Britain. I’m fighting for a united Europe”. There was an opportunity, there was hope... And those youths from the Acropolis by Phidias, “Youths bringing amphoras”, they have interesting movement, they do not just go away, they seem to withdraw, slowly withdraw...
And hope withdraws with them... This is what is called “the state of Waterloo”...