Honey Feast of the Saviour 2016

Editor: This is "Honey Feast of the Saviour," a 2016 mixed-media collage by Babak-Matveev. It feels really vibrant and sort of dreamlike with the combination of photography and graphic elements. What strikes you most about it? Curator: What stands out is the way the artist is bringing together disparate materials and techniques. Photography, collage, even digital manipulation...It pushes us to consider the very act of art making. How does this blending of media influence the message? Editor: I guess it makes me think about how everything is constructed. Nothing is quite what it seems at first glance. Even the setting feels artificial, almost like a stage set. Curator: Exactly. Think about the labor involved in each of these processes – from the physical act of taking a photograph to the digital manipulation required to create this final image. What statement might the artist be making about artistic skill or the nature of the work? Editor: Maybe that it’s less about pure skill and more about the overall concept and how these different parts come together? Curator: Precisely. And what about the ‘honey’ and ‘saviour’ elements? How might we understand this image through the lens of labor related to agriculture, manufacturing, or even religion, which historically involved intensive making of garments or objects? Editor: I see what you mean. The combination of something so traditional with very modern, almost mass-produced techniques, highlights the relationship between those kinds of work. I never would have considered how the medium is critical for analyzing social structures like work conditions. Curator: Seeing art through a materialist lens definitely changes how we see, doesn't it?