Summer romance 2016

This image, Summer Romance, was created by Babak-Matveev, an artist born in 2014. The artist presents us with a scene of apparent romance in a digital space. The work reflects an old-fashioned ideal, where a woman is courted by a suitor bearing gifts. Yet there is something distinctly modern about this work too, perhaps even satirical. The digital tools used to create the piece invite us to ask: what does romance look like in an age defined by virtual interactions? The artist plays with our expectations of gender and relationships, offering a scene that feels both familiar and uncanny. The characters seem to be acting out a familiar script, but the backdrop feels somehow artificial. The artist seems to suggest the performance of courtship is a dance between reality and fantasy.