On Heaven’s Doorsill

On Heaven’s Doorsill addresses beliefs in the afterlife, delving into mythology, folk tales, and ancient traditions in rural Romania. The project is inspired by the artist’s grandmother, Alexandra.

She lived her whole life in a village in Romania, where time passed by the turning of the seasons and everyday existence unfolded in harmony with the ancient rhythms of the land.

One night, long after she became a widow, as the earth held its breath, she had a peculiar dream. Her late husband appeared to her in silence. She asked him, “Have you come to take me across?” “Not yet,” he said. “I will be back for you at harvest time.”  And so, she waited.  The leaves turned gold, the hay was cut, and the fields swelled with ripeness. At harvest time, she entered the gates to the other side and rejoined him.

The liminal space depicted in On Heaven’s Doorsill is one where the ordinary takes on an eerie quality, and the boundary between the living and the dead is fading. Rituals that pay tribute to the departed offer both solace and unease. The focus shifts inward, toward the inner, psychological terrain shaped by belief and its unsettling truths—reverence for and acceptance of death, the enduring weight of the past, and the lingering presence of spirits among the living.

Roxana Savin is an internationally exhibited Swiss-based visual artist and photobook author, working with photography and moving image. She holds an MA Photography diploma by Falmouth University UK. Originally from Romania, her diverse body of work is influenced by personal experiences and her rich cultural heritage, exploring themes such as identity, belonging, gender roles, status of women in contemporary society. The photobook On Heaven’s Doorsill was published by dienacht, and released during Les Rencontres d’Arles 2025.