Женщины и дети: право на жизнь

The curriculum vitae: Abu Shaaranovich Pashaev, born in 1966 in the village of Chechen-Aul. In 1983 he graduated a secondary school. In 1986 he entered the Grozny college no. 9 and acquired a profession of designer. He continued his study in 1992, entering correspondently the Chechen State Pedagogical institute. He is a teacher and a professional artist. He participated in almost all exhibitions of the Chechen artists.

Abu Pashaev paints his pictures in the style of surrealism, expressionism and metaphysics.

According to the artist, his main teachers in painting became, however strange it sounds, poets. And the first of them was the well-known Chechen poet Magomed Sulaev. «I took a great interest in his poetry quite early and suddenly I felt, that the images cast by his verses are easier to express in drawings. So, Magomed Sulaev is my «good genius» that allowed me to take a glance inside myself and to reveal a calling of an artist», - Pashaev thinks.

In June of 2002 Abu Pashaev had to leave the territory of the Chechen Republic and for a long time he lived in the camp of the Chechen refugees «Sputnik» situated in the city of Karabulak (Republic of Ingushetia). It happened after numerous «mopping up operations», loss of the brother and the nephew. «Whilst the federals tracked down and killed the nephew - they used to rush into our house from time to time and demanded to give him out, - Abu tells. All members of the special task forces were, as if selected, tall and in masks. Once, I was already confident about inevitable death, and it occurred in front of my mother who could not understand anything in Russian. Suddenly one of the militaries directed the weapon on her and told me: «You love your mother very much. If you will not tell where is your nephew now - I will kill her right now, on your eyes». And then I shouted… I had a picture «The shout». It has reflected what had happened to me. And that military shacked me several times and when I stopped – he threw me my passport, adding - «Live».

There, in Karabulak, Abu Pashaev began working in his specialty. Within the framework of the psychological rehabilitation program of teenagers-refugees he taught 13-17-years teenagers to the basics of drawing and painting. «There were many talented children, - the artist says. – Generally the children’s painting has its specificity. The children have strongly pronounced desire to colors; they often draw moths, butterflies. I understand that depiction of children’s attitude is symbolical: flowers – a symbol of openness, cleanliness, innocence, butterflies – a symbol of revival».

Amazing resoluteness - they were not afraid of any logic and at the same time were able to state the idea precisely, sincerely, brightly. In a sense, I consider them as my teachers. The children draw in a style, which is defined by art critics as surrealism. What does it mean? Life observed in a broken mirror. Each piece reflects the meaning of the event, but all together – deform it».

In 1993 in the city of Grozny he introduced several of his pictures, including «Cry of the child in a womb of the mother» and «In a shadow of death». The last picture depicts a lifeless body and a human soul leaving it. This picture has appeared after the case when once in the morning, making my usual jogging, I unexpectedly chanced on a corpse of a killed man».

The artist is assured, that his pictures do not bear anything political, «are not politically actual». «I am engaged in my work. Any political conflicts simply do not exist for me. But it does not mean, that I live outside of this world. Or, for example, the war does not find any reflection in my works. Symbols, signs, which are not clear to someone, - but I write the history of the contemporaneity. And it is natural, that my own bitter experience also finds the reflection in them», - Abu states.

«Generalizing my impressions in the course of last years, I involuntarily come to the idea about amazing ability of the Chechens to repeat the same mistakes. Also the most surprising thing is: other people, having gone through falling, again rise on their legs – but we do not even try to make it, - the artist thinks. We have some other disadvantages. Salvador Dali, whom we often recollect, thought that his fellow countrymen –Spaniards – were wedded to the material benefits. He expressed this idea depicting in his pictures a commode with set of drawers and all possible doors. It seems to me, that in order to express commercialism of the modern Chechens is required to depict … a chest».

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