Hades: the underworld. The creatures that inhabit it are covered in ash and soot. They despise their underground prison as well as one another. They wish to escape, to crawl into the human world and fill it with their rage and hatred. But even for monsters escaping Hades, with its dark and narrow tunnels, painfully sharp expanses of stone punctuated by pools of dead water, is no easy task. Hades creates illusions for those imprisoned in it; the terrain changes unexpectedly; the underground night, colourless and bleak, changes suddenly into an undead fire, with the scorching red light illuminating the trap they are in. They do not know: have they made it out? Or are they still within their prison? Is one of them a traitor, leading them in circles, manufacturing illusions, turning the dead sea blue to fool them into thinking they are in the human world at last? Even monsters can feel fear. Even monsters can band together under its threat.

Another very fun shoot to do with Ian Sparks, Dyana Sonik-Henderson, and the Broken Rhythms dancers. Concept/artistic direction/costuming: Alina Sotskova. Photography: Ian Sparks. Editing: Alina Sotskova.