Angels 2000

Arsen Savadov made this photograph, Angels, but the date seems to be a mystery. This photo has a curious, dreamlike quality. The light is even, almost flat, as if the scene were staged in a studio, yet the backdrop is a rocky, coastal landscape. You can almost feel the grit of the pebbles under your feet, and smell the salt in the air, but then your eye is drawn to the surreal elements: the figures with wings, the lifeguard with his gear, and a curious structure that looks like a cross between a gazebo and a dollhouse. It’s the tension between the mundane and the fantastical that really grabs me. The angels look like they've just washed up on shore, their wings bedraggled, their expressions weary. The lifeguard seems indifferent to their plight, as if this is just another day at the beach. It reminds me of the work of Gregory Crewdson. Both artists create narratives that are open-ended and ambiguous. They seem to be suggesting that the world is a strange and wondrous place, full of unexpected encounters and hidden meanings.