Serhíy Anúfriev is a legendary figure in Ukrainian art. He is one of the founders of an important trend in art — Odésa conceptualism. He was born in 1964 in Odésa, he worked in various European countries before returning to Ukraine, where he still lives and works. His paintings, drawings, objects, installations, texts, and books contain irony, absurd situations, paradoxes, and wordplay. Despite its seeming simplicity, the author puts a lot of ideas into his work and thus expects careful study from the viewer.

Anufriev’s work “Monologue” is a small drawing made in 1985 on paper with a ballpoint pen, felt-tip pen, and coloured pencil. The vertical sheet of the work is bisected through the breadth. The upper part presents a cloudless sky. The lower one is also bisected: below is a meadow with green grass, and above are several hills covered with green bushes. In the foreground, on the meadow, there is a small light brown tent with an unfolded entrance, with two men inside, who are sitting and talking. Both are dressed in business suits. The man on the left is in a blue suit, and the man on the right is in a grey one and a purple hat. They hold forks with food in their hands, eating and communicating simultaneously. Four sailboats move one after the other on a line that goes from one man’s mouth to another, emphasising the direction of the conversation, and five islands with palm trees fly toward him in response. Above them, on the hill, among the low green bushes, a woman stands with her head up, speaking to the sky. Her monologue, which is directed upward to the left, consists of golden meat grinders.

Men discuss “important” issues (far sailing and exotic lands) over a meal in a comfortable tent. The woman on the hill does not participate in “intelligent” conversations, but does something “around the house”. The use of a meat grinder is the only topic of conversation available to her.

This work is an ironic disapproval of male bias about women and their place in society.