Alexander Saidov enters into a dialogue with the tradition of "hellish visions" and creates his own universe - but not of hell, rather of paradise. For the artist from Krasnodar, Alexander Saidov, painting is akin to magic. Since his youth, he has been fascinated by the connection between the fantastic and the real, which can be observed, for example, in the engravings of Piranesi or the paintings of Böcklin. Alexander Saidov believes that the theme of paradise is underexplored in world art, while hell - whether in Dante, Bosch, or modern video games - is depicted in maximum detail. The descriptions of divine paradisiacal light and music found in literature, the artist found insufficient, and with the help of imagination and a heraldic encyclopedia, he set out to create his own paradise. He populated it with mysterious animals and cupids - either sad or contemplative - and planted it with plants bearing huge juicy fruits. The result is a complex and captivating universe where pleasure, sadness, suffering, and love are inseparable from one another. Alexander Saidov is a member of the Union of Artists of Russia and the laureate of the Erarta Prize 2024. For more details, you can visit the official website. Arrows of Love Photo: provided by the organizer Fruit and Angel