Marxizm de Sad 1998

This image, "Marxizm de Sad," is by Arsen Savadov. It’s a photograph, with figures dressed as toadstools, set in a dark forest. I can imagine Savadov, setting up this shot, moving people around, maybe thinking about Lewis Carroll and definitely thinking about Surrealism and the theatre of the absurd. It must have been such an amazing experience to stage this scene. What were his conversations with his models like? I'm drawn to the contrasts between the male figure in a suit and the naked female figures. Each gesture seems very deliberate, and the title suggests political and philosophical ideas are at play, too. I wonder if the artist also looked at the work of Hans Bellmer, who created disturbing and subversive images of dolls and mannequins. Ultimately, the strength of this artwork lies in how it invites multiple interpretations, and how it unsettles fixed readings.