Wings and Blades.
Wings and Blades explores the tension between aspiration and obedience. Wings represent the human desire to rise—to seek freedom, dignity, and a higher purpose. The blade represents discipline, authority, and the demand to obey.
Yet history is created by neither impulse alone. Absolute freedom can become chaos, while unquestioning obedience can turn individuals into instruments of someone else’s will. Civilizations are shaped in the unstable space between these forces: between the dream of flight and the command of the sword.
The emblem unites wings and blade within a single object, suggesting that ideals and power are often inseparable. What appears heroic may also contain submission; what promises elevation may require obedience.
The work does not decide which force is right. Instead, it asks: How much freedom must be surrendered for order—and at what point does obedience destroy the very ideals it claims to defend?
Title: Wings and Blades
Year: 2026
Series: Nail Series / Existential
Medium: Nail, acrylic paint on paper in frame
Dimensions: 10 × 15 cm; framed: 12.8 × 17.8 × 1 cm
Edition: Unique (1/1)
Condition: Stable. Natural oxidation is integral to the work.
Certificate: This artwork is accompanied by a signed Certificate of Authenticity and permanently documented in the Viktor Karpenko Artwork Archive.
Archive Numbe:r VK-2021-0026
Status: 🟢 Available