Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The scene unfolded in a small exhibition space, where two visitors sat on a bench flanking a low-relief artwork. The man’s gesture suggested mid-conversation — perhaps an explanation, a persuasion, or even a defence. The woman’s posture, closed and reserved, told a different story. Between them, the sculpted figures of archers aimed into an unseen distance, their tension echoing the silent space between the two sitters.

I composed the frame to keep both the living and the sculpted figures in dialogue. The bench, the plaque at its centre, and the artwork behind created a strong horizontal structure, broken only by the vertical rhythm of the sitters’ bodies. The sign — “Omaggio a Livio Mascarelli, Maestro dell’arte tabellone” — became a subtle visual pivot, though not an intended focal point, serving instead as an anchor in the lower centre of the image.

From a technical standpoint, the lighting was even but flat, relying on ambient illumination from the gallery. This maintained the soft colour of the man’s layered blues and the woman’s turquoise scarf, both of which stood out against the more muted, earthy tones of the relief. The exposure leaned toward preserving detail in both the clothing and the artwork’s texture, avoiding blown highlights on the pale wall while keeping shadow noise to a minimum.

It’s an image built as much on body language as on composition — two people in proximity, yet worlds apart, bound together only by the bench they share and the silent bronze warriors behind them.