At the council. Sketch. 

Curator: Mikhail Nesterov gives us this sketch, aptly titled "At the council," in simple monochrome. Something about it feels caught between worlds. Editor: My initial impression is hushed expectancy, as if secrets are about to be unveiled. It feels serious but...strangely inviting? It reminds me of those folklore stories told by the fire with wolves howling in the distance. Curator: I get that! You know, thinking about the composition, I am struck by how all eyes are drawn to this figure entering through the gates, cloaked and mysterious. He is perhaps bringing a decree or... confronting power? The contrast of light and shadow heightens this drama. Editor: I agree about the mystery, but power structures interest me, too. Who holds space, who speaks, and how does tradition create exclusions? It appears, solely on men in the frame. The positioning, the gate even – they seem like symbolic guardians of a community with a clear, delineated order. Curator: Indeed. Though the work remains a sketch, one gets the palpable sense of the weight of this group, steeped in the customs that shaped this village and their identities. Look at those beards – each unique yet undeniably belonging to a shared culture. Editor: And within those beards probably rests layers of societal bias and historical injustice that determine much more than physical appearance. It forces you to consider things like historical power structures in communities such as these that uphold systems which may oppress other people. Curator: This piece feels so rooted to a place... like a whisper through generations. What secrets do you suppose the trees and the very ground beneath them holds? Maybe the role of these silent observers. Editor: Yes, that quiet complicity of place. But perhaps if we listen closely, the wind will also tell us tales of the silenced. Thanks for making me see what more this sketch reveals! Curator: Likewise! It makes one think of the council's responsibility of the decisions made behind closed doors—an ink wash reminding me the importance of our connection to the natural world as the people and places who shaped it.