“Motherhood” is a small bronze sculpture on a granite base that was created in the early period of Alexander Burganov’s career. It depicts a stylized figure of a seated woman and child on a rectangular stand made of black granite. The two figures are sitting on a bench, at some distance from each other, and are looking ahead, into the distance. The artwork explores a simple rural theme using generalized, monolithic forms. The sitting characters are calm and relaxed. It seems that they sit in silence, and all movement has stopped.

All the action and its participants have left behind the frailty and vanity of life and taken a step into eternity. Like saints from the icons, they seem to be praying in the face of time and fate, looking forward. The figures are motionless, their movements constrained. The sculptor made the female figure heavy which is emphasized by the fact that it merges with the bench. The folds of her long vestments are depicted in a generalized manner. They hide specific forms, creating a schematic and symbolic image. The small head emphasizes the archetypical sculptural forms and the cumbersome nature of the figure. This image personifies a mother, nature, and countryside.

In contrast, the child’s figure is very small. The child is sitting straight with its head up, so small that the legs do not touch the ground. The movement of its raised head, however, shows aspiration and a look forward, into the future.

Traditionally, a mother is depicted hugging, feeding, or nursing her child, holding it close to her, or playing with it. Alexander Burganov chose a different perspective. Although the sculpture is titled “Motherhood”, the mother is placed apart from the child, emphasizing the theme of future separation. The mother lets her son go out into the big world and experience life with all its knowledge and discoveries on his own. In this calm silence, one can feel that she is ready to make a sacrifice and overcome her fear and anxiety.