Survival Rituals: Alexej Sachov at Basel Art Week 2026

Chronicles of an Emerging Diversity & The Shape of Cosmos

2022 - ongoing · Sculptural intervention and conceptual placement, strobe-lit and night-dive photography

Simulating the conditions of a primordial explosion, the marine debris collected on dives is compressed and released in weightlessness. As fragments expand and collide, sculptures emerge by chance: synthetic life assembled from waste, the threshold body and Sachov's nearest answer to Giger. In The Shape of Cosmos, real synthetic objects are placed into the open sea at night, a physical simulation of synthetic form entering the natural world. All objects are removed from the water and disposed of properly.

The Secret Code of Nature

2021 - ongoing · Long-exposure macro photography, night dives

Survival and hunting in motion; the organisms become the image. Living organisms drawn to underwater light during night dives inscribe their movement across a six-centimetre field as luminous lines against a dark ground. The artist sets the conditions but does not compose the result.

Inside the Wave

2021 · Long-exposure photography, the wave seen from beneath

Often, life is a race. Here ghost-like horses run back to back beneath the surface, and you see only a snapshot of it: are they moving as a group or against each other, racing to be first, or simply enjoying the journey through the sea? In this underwater race, the winner is the first one to die. The Final Surge is the culmination, not speed or competition but a life fully embraced, each moment a crest in the great sea of life.

Blood

2023 · Long-exposure night dives, red light and a laser

Survival at its most literal. The red is passion, blood, and the wounds inflicted on the world: a planet bleeding above and below the water, from war and from ecological collapse. Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, lived through in Kyiv under rocket and drone strikes, that bleeding became personal and entered the work. The chaos of lines and spots is made by moving bubbles lit by the red glow of underwater lamps, with the reflection of a laser standing in for a sight beam. The entire gross profit from every sale of this work, about 35% of the price, is donated to friends defending Ukraine.

The Jewel of Nature

2020 - ongoing · Macro photography, coral reef surfaces

Rebirth: new life on dead coral, the long cycle. Coral reefs have been painting for hundreds of millions of years. These close-up photographs isolate the dense field where dozens of species compete on a single plane, vibrant corals growing on the remains of earlier life.

Four Elements & The True Magic

2024 - ongoing · Long-exposure night dives, elemental particles

The elements that compose life itself. Light, water, air, and particles assemble the image on their own: bubbles rising through beams of light and laser lines, recorded as a luminous field. The artist manages the process.

The studio is the sea

Every project in this presentation is made entirely during scuba dives.

Parallel & recent shows

• Photo Basel 2026, Solo Booth A9, Volkshaus Basel (Rebgasse 12-14), a few minutes from the Basel Art Center on the same street. 16 - 21 June 2026, VIP private view 15 June. Presented by M ART Gallery.
• The Photography Show 2026 (AIPAD), Solo Booth, Park Avenue Armory, New York (April 2026).
• Aesthetica Art Prize: Finalist 2024 (exhibition at York Art Gallery, UK). Selected for Celebrating 20 Years, a group exhibition at Mercer Gallery, Harrogate (2 May / 6 September 2026).

Material & Finishing

Inkjet pigment prints on Hahnemühle archival papers, framed and glazed to museum standard. Most works can be produced up to 160 to 180 cm as a unique edition of 1 on request. Alternative framing options are available. Pricing on request.

Survival Rituals

Survival Rituals is an international contemporary-art group exhibition presented during Basel Art Week 2026, taking the biomechanical vision of H. R. Giger as its conceptual point of entry.

15 - 21 June 2026 · Opening day 15 June (Opening Brunch 11:00 to 13:00; Party and DJ set 18:00 to 20:00) · Basel Art Center, Rebgasse 31, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
Presented by Rukh Art Hub, TuAsho Agency and Basel Art Center.

Exhibition information & RSVP →