Collective Red 1998

This is Arsen Savadov’s ‘Collective Red’. When it was made, I'm not sure, but Savadov was born in 1962. I'm struck by how the visceral and theatrical are brought together here. The red isn't just a color; it's practically a character in itself. The blood-like substance coats everything, becoming a kind of painterly gesture that obscures the surface. The texture and the light… they're intense, but almost painterly, like a Caravaggio. The heavy, dark shadows mixed with the slick, reflective surfaces create a space that's both real and imagined. Notice the way the light catches on the bodies. It’s like a macabre dance of flesh and shadow. It really reminds me of the work of Joel-Peter Witkin. Savadov invites us to confront discomfort and to find a strange beauty in the grotesque.