Skyline 2016

Babak-Matveev’s *Skyline*, made around 2014, plunges us into a world where folklore and hyperreality collide. Looking at this image, I see a saturated dreamscape, where three figures in traditional dress stand amidst a fantastical landscape, each holding a golden orb while chickens float in the sky. I wonder, what was Babak-Matveev thinking? I imagine the artist conjuring this image layer by layer, maybe digitally collaging elements together in a kind of visual alchemy. The bold patterns and textures—the floral scarves, the glossy orbs, and the surreal backdrop—create a sense of abundance and artifice. There's a tension between the natural and the artificial, the familiar and the bizarre. For me it's in the way the artist might be playing with traditions and cultural symbols, transforming them into something new and unexpected. It's like a conversation between generations of image-makers. And the result is, well, ambiguous. It's up to us to make meaning out of these elements.