Jonas Bendiksen Singh said, "I remember seeing this image for the first time at the Visa pour l’Image photography festival where it was part of the exhibition of his project Satellites. I couldn’t believe it was r
(...) eal and seeing it as a large-scale print as I walked through the door was stunning. I remember standing in front of it for ages trying to work out what the hell was going on. It didn’t seem to fit with the other exhibitions at the festival that were related to conflicts, disasters, poverty and injustice. The colours are so rich and intense, the juxtaposition of this strange hunk of metal in a beautiful meadow so surreal and the two boys, perched on top of the satellite so charming. And of course the unearthly beauty of the butterflies falling like snowflakes from the sky. It could be a scene from a movie or a fairytale. It’s an image that fills you with a childlike wonder every time you look at."
Villagers collecting scrap from a crashed spacecraft, surrounded by thousands of white butterflies. Environmentalists fear for the region's future due to the toxic rocket fuel. Altai Territory. RUSSIA. 2000. © Jonas Bendiksen | Magnum Photos
