Wedding procession 2016

Editor: We’re looking at "Wedding Procession," a 2016 photograph by Babak-Matveev. It's incredibly vibrant. There's almost too much to take in; it feels surreal. What are your initial observations focusing purely on the composition? Curator: The density is indeed remarkable. The composition appears deliberately overcrowded. Notice how the saturated colours – the vivid blues and yellows – create a tension. The foreground pulls us in with the floral abundance while the backdrop with the windmills hints at classic landscape painting conventions. Is there a structural disjunction in the treatment of depth? Editor: I think so, it’s almost as if different realities were juxtaposed. How do you read that tension between the naturalistic details and artificial construct of the artwork? Curator: Intriguing. The tension appears to lie in the artifice of pictorial space and treatment of surface. The formal device used to hold pictorial structure becomes important as a function of the work’s meaning. Let's think about the formal choices – the arrangement of the figures on the tractor, the colour choices; it's very deliberate. Don't you think so? Editor: I see that now! The figures in traditional attire disrupt our understanding. Also, did you notice the repetition of circles—wheels, floral arrangements, swan placements— creating an unusual type of unity across the photograph? Curator: Yes. I think these types of visual links may suggest a symbolic resonance. It’s all there to trigger thought; how all this artificiality prompts certain feeling of artifice or simulation when reflecting on culture itself. Editor: I hadn't thought about the role of simulation within a photograph itself. Thank you. Curator: Indeed! This rigorous exercise opens possibilities beyond immediate aesthetics.