I was born and raised in Moscow. Pursuit of knowledge and education then took me to Boston, USA, and London, York and Cambridge in the United Kingdom. I eventually succumbed to the pull of London, and this is where I now live and work.
My photographic skills initially came from a combination of self-teaching and courses at the Central St. Martins College of Art and Design. I have then completed a Graduate Certificate course in Lens-based image making at the London College of Communication (University of the Arts London). Though I do both black & white and color, the former is my bigger passion.
At international portfolio reviews in Arles (France) and Birmingham (UK), as well as at other events, my work has garnered high praise from directors, curators and editors of the following organizations and publications:
George Eastman House (US)
National Media Museum (UK)
Gothenburg Museum of Art (Sweden)
The Magenta Foundation (Canada)
FotoFest (US)
Light Work (US)
Camera Austria
Robert Berman Gallery (California, US)
Bonni Benrubi Gallery (New York, US)
Camera Press (UK)
Some of my work has been purchased by private individuals. Other humble credits so far include:
Aug 2010
5 Honorable Mentions in the International Photography Awards
Categories:
Fine Art - Landscape (Pro), for Vanishing Point (single image)
Fine Art - Other (Pro), for Vanishing Point (series and single image), and for Big Bucks
Special - Other (Pro), for Big Bucks
Jul-Aug 2010
Salt group show
Qui Vive? 2nd Moscow International Biennial for Young Art
Jan 2010
Nominated for the 5th annual Black & White Spider Awards
Category: Silhouette - professional
[for an image from the Darkscapes series]
May 2009
Longlisted for the Emerging Photographer Fund Grant
Burn Magazine and Magnum Foundation
[for the Vanishing Point portfolio]
Feb-Mar 2009
LANDSCAPE... group show
RuArts Gallery, Moscow
[a top Moscow gallery, exhibited artists include Spencer Tunick, Erwin Olaf, and Ruud van Empel]
Nov 2008
FIAP (Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique) Distinction; Acceptance List for the Al-Thani International Photography Award; 1 x General Theme, 2 x Special Theme
Oct 2008
Work for sale at the CanChange contemporary art auction for Cancer Research UK
Jun 2008
13th Annual Russian Summer Ball (work featured at the event)
London
May-Jun 2008
The Incredible Holga and Wonder Diana group show
(TimeOut Dubai Feature of the Week)
Jam Jar Gallery, Dubai
Mar 2008
Finalist — Beck's Art Labels commission
Nov 2007
FIAP (Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique) Distinction; Acceptance List for the Al-Thani International Photography Award, Category: Color prints
Aug 2007
Photography workshop
Design Museum London
Jun-Jul 2007
Stills 1 ˝ personal show
Cultural Information Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Jun 2007
Graduate Show
London College of Communication
May 2007
Connaught Village Festival (work featured at the event)
London
Apr-May 2007
Stills personal show
Arcotel Allegra, Zagreb, Croatia
Nov 2006
FIAP Distinction; Acceptance List for the Al-Thani International Photography Award, Category: Black & White prints
Nov 2006
Art Below group show
London Underground
Jul-Aug 2006
Samples personal show
Blue Room Cafe, Soho, London
about the work
Like in social sciences the very fact of an experiment taking place changes the behavior of a subject, so in the art of photography the very act of taking a picture can change the nature of that which is being photographed.
My work is therefore not so much concerned with literal depictions, instead opting for a sense of uncertainty about that which is seen. The images hint at an implied meaning or symbolism, but at the same time defer, if not altogether deny, many interpretational cues (both factual: location, time; and visual: clear focus, recognizable shapes). The inherent bond between all locations and things is thus exposed, and yet curiously, as a necessary consequence, so is their individual irrelevance. Without being rendered outright abstract, these places, objects and people metamorphose into vessels of visions, desires, dreams, mysteries, secrets, darkness… They become significant in a self-contained David Lynchesque manner, their internal logic obscured. This significance is elusive and inaccessible, yet it resolutely does not require a context or rationale to prop it up, as any seemingly intimated meaning and symbolism do not actually reside within the image itself.
Acknowledging this tension between our taking responsibility for creating our own meaning and relying on outside sources to produce it for us enables a more direct and unmediated connection to the subject. The melancholy that is so often attributed to my images is an expression of the resulting existential angst, representing both the longing for a stable, traceable meaning and a simultaneous resignation to the futility of this quest.
If you would like to contact me, please use this form. Now go check out the pictures!