Angels 2000

Arsen Savadov made this photograph, Angels, using a muted, almost cinematic palette, staging a scene that feels both dreamlike and strangely real. There’s this tension in the photo, a push and pull between different elements. The dark, imposing rock with the cross feels ancient, weighty. Then you have the figures on the beach, so deliberately posed. What are they doing? Who are they? It’s like Savadov is setting up a riddle, and we, the viewers, are left to piece together the clues. Look at the angel's wings, slightly tattered, or the sailor’s uniforms, sharply pressed. These details suggest a story, but it's a story that refuses to be pinned down. It reminds me a bit of Jeff Wall, but with a Ukrainian twist. Like Wall, Savadov is constructing a scene for the camera, but unlike Wall, there’s a rawness here, an openness to interpretation. That ambiguity is where the power of this photograph lies.