Pavel Wolberg

 Pigment ink print (from the series: Barricades), Kiev, 2014

In 2014, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine turned into a declaration of war between the two countries. Wolberg documented this period in his Barricades series, with images that remain as relevant today as ever. In a very short time, the urban landscape he depicted changed, and parts of the main cities became an everyday battlefield.

This photograph portrays policemen holding weapons and shields. It isn't clear to which side they are being annexed to, and whether they are here to attack or to defend. They stand with their legs spread apart, balanced on wooden platforms that have been laid ​on the snow. Two angels stand before them.

The angles in the film Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987) teach us that angels have always existed, and that they possess superhuman qualities; they see everything but can't be seen, the witnesses of past and future.

Can these armed policemen see the angels? There is no doubt that the angels  can see both the policemen, and the evil that is yet to come.