News digest of Russian photographers / Summer – Autumn 2016
News from FotoDepartament authors and FotoDepartament.Institute graduates, friends and colleagues.
Publication of FotoDeparatament. Instiute in YET Magazine
This Spring FotoDeparatament has bagun to cooperate with YET Magazine, international phototgraphy edition and made series of more than 10 publications online about reamarkable authors representing Russian contemprorary photography. YET №10 is dedicated to the issue photography education and its updating. On of the magazine section displays our updated education FotoDepartament.Institute program and our graduates and students. YET editors took a critical view to the universal photography education, how it corresponded with modern global field and tried to gather together the opinions of the teachers, students of different institutes, countries, fields and formats. As a result, there is a lot of interviews in YET №10, critical essays, discussions, ideas of the professionals and critics. The edition was represented in Paris at the book fairs Polycopies and Offprint.
Magazine material covers several spreads with photographs of such authors as Anastasia Bogomolova, Irirna Zadorozhnaia, Yury Koryakovsky, Feodora Kaplan, Tatyana Palyga and Alexandr Bondar.
It is possible to buy printed version of YET №10 in online shop of YET.
“Machine” by Irina Zadorozhnaia
We would like to share the transfomation of the “Machine”, project by FotoDeparatament gallery author, Irina Zadorozhnaia, which after the dummy found a new format in digital space. Irina transferred to another dimension, made a freestand project on her own site, continued to develop own interest area – virtual vs real. Irina about the project development in the new form:
“Machine” has a site now and it is continued/embodied from the book, which is chronologically the initial form of the project. There are wide white margins, where images are applied. These images received from the outcome of the “experiment” of the estrangement from my own experience.
I worked with the things impacting on me , and this impact made me do or not to do.
Returning to the digital space I return to the project pre-creation, to that what was “before”, to the visual traces of my experience. Building up the connection between the virtual ( possible) and real I observe the reciprocal influence of creation and “decreation”, how they resist each other and coincide, converge, forming a hybrid. As a tool, negotiating its useful features, expands its ability to transform.”
Go to the project
Works by Irina Zadorozhnaya came into the range of works represented in Italian magazine Inside Art Magazine #107
Go to the magazine
Julia Borissova exhibiton “Beyond the Unseen” in the UK and preview at The Calvert Journal
There was an exhibition by Julia Borissova In Exeter School of Art from the October 11th to the November 12th 2016 where her photobooks were displayed. They winned in several contests and nominations such as Dimitry, DOM(Document Object Model) and Address. Julia uses archive materials and photographs , her own memories na dexperience, interpreting photo material with senses like in the project “Running to the Edge”, which is dedicated to the emigrants of 1920s.
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Six photo projects about private life of citizens of Russia.
The Calvert Journal published an article about six photo projects dedicated to the private life of the Russians nowadays. Home is the best reflection of us, that is why Russian photographers often take pictures of people in their homes, trying to shoot the moment when a person is himself in his comfort zone. Three of the six participants are our friends, authors we cooperate with and graduates of the FotoDepartament. Institute education programn: Nina Duladova, Anastasia Tsayder and Jana Romanova.
Crime and Punishment. The publication on The Calvert Journal of photoproject by Denis Tarasov and Fyodor Telkov.
In The Calvert Journal you can see the article “Crime and Punishment” dedicated to the problem of the Russian prison system, which has been always enclosed by questions and on which many researches have been made till the times of Gulag. After the revelatory letter by Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of a disrespect to the prisoners many of attacts against the current prison system increased. With that press of Ekaterinburg invited the photographers Fyodor Telkov and Denis Tarasov to shoot prisons and show how to work in this field, how the prisoners feel in fact, to display current changes and real situation. There are the outcome of the co-project and comments as well.
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New project “Polite Fish” by Elena Anosova.
The culture of Eastern Russia is diverse as there is plenty of various ethnic groups, and the border with China is stretched for 4000 km. In many ways Asian traditions drift into citizens of Russia. The photofrapher Elena Anosova was born in Irkutsk, has devoted many projects to Siberia and Eastern Russia examination. For instance, there is a project about isolated settlements in Siberia: Saagan Sag or the project, dedicated to female prisons, Section. However, in her project Polte Fish she orients herself to the other exciting issues: the diversity of the East in relation with a life on the border. That is exactly why The Calvert Journal devoted the article “The Fartherst Shore” to the Elena’s project.
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Collaboration by Julia Borissova and Japan Lula Magazine
Japan Lula Magazine offered the author of the FotoDepartament Gallery Julia Borissova a cooperation.The task was to make a photoproject for one of the selected topic. We asked Julia for a commentary of such unordinary collaboration:
“Cooperation offer with Lula Magazine was unexpectable but pleasant to me. I wasn’t confused as I had the experience of collaboration before. The only requirement was to consider the headline – “Green” – not only as a colour but in wider senses as well.
As for me, this word is synonymous with rebirth and I decided to concetrate on the issue of wedding, considering it as a coming-of-age ceremony, dying to birth, as a transition and sacral action. I took into account the correlation a bride with a decendent in wedding rites: at the momet of stepping into a new life a woman dies for the rest of people and becomes a part of the afterworld, the world of ancestry. And this was my inspiration.
The terms were quiet limited, It was needless to concentrate on the project only, but it was very interesting. Now, after publication, I am to develop it.
4 Stairs – Project by Ksenia Yurkova
The Calvert Journal published new project 4 Stairs, which is dedicated to the Murmansk city, its surroundings and habitants,and made by Ksenia Yurkova, the FotoDepartament gallery photographer. At first Ksenia was working as a street photographer, interviewing photographed people and compiling stories and pictures. Then Ksenia decided not to use verbal aspect, making a viewer to build the character from the picture by himself and to ask questions.
Dmitry Lookianov interview for Losko Magazine.
Losko Magazine asked Dmitry Lookianov, the photographer, of his project Instant Tomorrow. Dmitry works on the line between documentalism and staged photography. His projects induce conflicting emotions. Those who saw his works described their feelings as “unusually and weird”, “strictly and directly”, surrealistic and interesting” , “longing for and something familiar “ghetto and motherland with an opportunity to see beauty” etc. As for editors, “Instant Tomorrow is the project of searching the esctetics where there isn’t at first sight.. Photographs form Dkdance let us to feel space, hear the silence and appreciate the sweet sorrow. As we were impressed, we couldn’t help but interviewed the author and asked how it had been done.”
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Besides, from the November 18th to 27th in Dusseldorf the exhibition “Edge Effects” by Dmitry Lookianov held
The exhbition in Triangle gallery and the interview of Alexey Bogolepov for Aroundart.
Alexey Bogolepov graduated from University of Alyaska and FotoDepartament. Institute, he gave an interview to Aroundart.org. Alexey told about own self-perception in the field of the contemprorary art, about what had impressed him once and have inspired till nowadays, about his choice as an artist, techniques, exhibitons and new projects. Alexey captures architecture, industrial buildings, unknown constructions, creates 3D-models and ready-mades, examining objects and forms. “I am embedded in the process of photography completely. Things I import into its visualization I literally throw light on anew. Or, rather I create the light which has never lighted.”
Also, the exhibition “Интерфейс/Контейнер” was held from the October 25th to the November 30th in Triangle gallery, Moscow. Alexey broadens the concept of the object applying various artistic manners, changing the order and distorting proportions, and invites an audience to watch material field and human activity as series of crossings, differences and voids which build polygonal nets and modular alphabets”
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Review on Artur Bondar’s book «Shadows of Wormwood»
Collector Daily is a portal with gallery and museum reviews of the events related to the contemprorary photography and bookn reviews as well. It published the book review of Artur Bondar’s Shadows of Wormwood devoted to the “exclusion area” after Chernobyl accident. Artur devoted 8 years to the project, went to the scene of a disaster and captured deserts and its changes. Linking to the tragedy, the book includes archive materials, scraps, document fragments speaking at those who had lived and worked there. Bondar’s project make us to think of the fragility of the world, his photograps with the focus on the void and the absence of life remind of our vulnerability.
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New East Photo Prize finalists
The Calvert Journal published the list if the finalists New East Photo Prize. The main contest concern was to find the most standout photoprojects. Initially there were 1000 participants form 25 countries, judges were to select 18 lucky. 2 of the finalists are FotoDepartament friends, Egor Rogalev and Dmitry Lookianov.
Berlin European Month of Photography
Dmitry Lookianov project Instant Tomorrow become a participant of Berlin European Month of Photography of 2016.
Michail Kurtov and Egor Rogalev talk about the photography in the age of social networks.
Photographer Egor Rogalev and philosopher Michail Kurtov talk about the contemrorary photography subject and its presence in the Internet at Colta.ru
«Important feature of the phtotography today is the isolation to the certain medium-specialized area with its own market, curators, exhibitions and contests. And this area simultaneously fits and doesn’t fit in the global contemprorary art context.”
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Julia Spiridonova interview on Fotoroom. Project Neither You Nor I
“There is a special way of cruelty in Julia Spiridonova portarits from her book “Neither You Nor I“. Julia creates the circumstances of privacy intrusion, entering one’s home with a camera, somehow taking one aback and shooting one during getting a sexual pleasure. From the one hand, characters directly look through the camera, from the other, cover faces and turn away producing the effect of intimacy presence denial and complementing more senses giving viwers to look for them. The editors asked Julia of her main interests as a photographer, talked about her project and what exactly pushed her to its creation, and what was her own interpretation and inspiration.
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Exhibition Museum of Skateboarding by Kirill Savchenkov (2015) in terms of Calvert 22 Foundation’s Power and Architectureseason.
Kirill had been skateboarding for long time. Despite the change of occupation and drift to art, his projects somehow narrate of the past skateboarding experience. Subculture, sorroundings, community and board, his installations and projects about the past and future of skateboarding, how it is transforming and adjusting to metropolitan changes. As for Savchenkov skateboard is on the border of mainstream and fashion, between the past and the future.
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Tatyana Vinogradove wins CPOY (College Photographer of the Year)
Every year more than 600 students from 130 universities and colleges take part in CPOY contest. Gathering the best works young photographers come to experts trial. Tatyana Vinogradova carried off gold in Portrait nomination with her photograph from the project “Days of melancholy” where Anton Dronov, the main russian gay community representative, posed. “Hetero sexuality is the right thing, everything else is not. I’m hope I’m not gay forever.” The photograph shows the problem of homosexuals’ existance in Russia, they must live in shadow and hide their individualities.
Photographer Alexander Soldatov won first place in the portfolio review at the festival Eyes on in Vienna
We glad to share the news about the graduate of FotoDepartament.Institute programs and author of our gallery Alexandra Soldatova. Alexandra has won the first prize in portfolio-review at The Eyes On Portfolio Review, which has been organised this year for the first time in collaboration with the Month of Photography Bratislava. As a winner Alexandra will be invited to present her photographs in Bildrecht GmbH’s exhibition space during Eyes On 2018. We asked her to give us a comment about her experience.
‘Portfolio-review is effective for me when I have questions, and when I’m interested in getting various answers. For example, I don’t know how to show one of my projects in space, I have ideas, but it’s not enough. When I don’t know who will be interested in my works and how I should realize my projects. You should understand, that nobody can give a full answer for all your questions in 20 minutes, you can only receive an idea, and, sometimes, it’s all what you need. And what about critics, I don’t need to hear «Good!» or «Excellent!». In fact, I cannot do anything with these comments. I always want to know what the person on the other side of the table sees in my project. It is the perfect situation, and, unfortunately, it happens rarely. I would say that portfolio-review is not a grade or something, it is an opportunity to receive a feedback, to calculate the interested audience and a pleasure to talk not only in 20 minutes at the table, but somewhere in between sessions and after them. I’m always going to talk not only with reviewers, but also with photographers, with an interest of what they do and create.’
Jana Romanova’s exhibition Adopted Welsh
These are some of the questions posed by Russian artist Jana Romanova in this body of work Adopted Welsh. Developed as part of a Ffotogallery residency in 2015 within the European Prospects international programme, Romanova crowd sourced ideas, calling out to people across Wales with the question “If I was to become Welsh, what would my future here look like?” Travelling across Wales, she did exactly what people suggested she should do – sing in a choir, play and watch rugby, join a historical re-enactment society, become a local schoolteacher. This first exhibition of the resulting work shows in warm, and often hilarious, terms what it means for a Russian woman to become ‘adopted Welsh’. The exhibition will be presented in a new temporary city centre venue and Ffotogallery is delighted be partnering with Cardiff Contemporary for their third citywide festival with the theme “Communication”.
David Drake, Ffotogallery’s Director, comments:
“Hailing from St Petersburg, Jana Romanova is a very exciting photographic artist and we are proud to be presenting her work during Cardiff Contemporary 2016. With a highly participatory approach, alongside her photography and video work the artist uses her own body and performance, questioning her own identity and exploring the different roles photography plays within our society”.
Publications of Irina Zadorozhnaya works in FK Magazine
“Under the influence of weightlessness on astronauts’ bodies, he has the illusions associated with the position of the body”. This short sentence was the starting point for beginning of that work. The project is like the process of splitting for perception of the physical world. As a result, the actual world becomes merely an excuse for the existence of the image. An image that has not already happened, once and for all, but is in perpetual becoming. It becomes again and again to others, under the gaze of exposing alternative ‘reality’. Thus, at the same time, the image itself turns out to be a reason for the appearance of an observer.
Irina Zadorozhnaia works with photography and virtual space. She has studied photography at the FotoDepartament Institute in St. Petersburg. Area of her research is altered state of consciousness in the context of the concept of possible worlds.