To the Heart 2007

Arsen Savadov’s 'To the Heart' is like a visual explosion, made with layers of images and ideas, a real maximalist approach. The colour palette is all over the place, faded pastel shades mixed with vibrant hues that smack you in the face. It’s a real feast of images, chaotic and confusing, but in a good way, like flipping through a stack of old records and magazines, finding new connections. Those vinyl records floating about, for example - what’s that all about? I guess it is all about music, the spirit of celebration or some kind of ritual! The surface is super textured and layered, like it’s been through a warzone. You can see bits of photographs, magazine cutouts, and hand-painted elements. There’s one figure in the centre, a man with a blank expression and stripy top who seems to be conducting the whole scene, like a master of ceremonies. Savadov reminds me of other collage artists like Peter Blake or Linder Sterling, who also used found imagery to create surreal and provocative works. It’s like he’s saying that art doesn’t have to be precious or perfect. It can be messy, chaotic, and full of contradictions, just like life itself.