THE HUMANS v.21
Six years. Five projects. One story.
I shoot people of the 21st century — those who live at the fracture of an era.
Under shelling. In unrecognized states. In alien civilizations.
Where childhood has been canceled, but children still remain children.
This is not about politics. Not about destruction. Not about pity.
This is about people who refused to disappear.
Each of the five acts is a separate chapter of one great Story.
PROJECT GEOGRAPHY
Russia, China, Turkey, Abkhazia, Armenia, Egypt.
And borders that have so far remained insurmountable: Palestine, Syria, the countries of Africa and South America. Reality dictates its own terms, but the work continues wherever it is possible.
These stories exist only thanks to my Friends and the people who believe in this project and support it.
Detailed shooting geography, routes, and behind-the-scenes are available in a special section.
[Chronicle of travels →]
A Word from the Author
Do you know who determines what our World, our Planet, our Country are like today and what they will be like tomorrow?
Go to the mirror and look at yourself. It is You! Yes, it is you personally who determines the present, the future, and even the past of our shared Universe.
Stop thinking that nothing depends on you. That what you do is needed by no one and will change nothing. It will change. And how! The flap of a butterfly’s wing can cause a hurricane on the other side of the planet.
The main thing is—do! Create, make, love, and in the end—simply Live!
When you wake up in the morning, think about what new and beautiful things you can fill the coming day with. Remember that there will never be another day like this. And there will never be another you like this either.
THE HUMANS v.21
Planet Without Wars
The main goal of this international anti‑war project is to show the everyday life and routine, the weekdays and holidays of ordinary peaceful people living in territories of ongoing wars and conflicts. A life that has no choice of where to live, and which continues… despite the hell of war raging around. Against all odds, it remains Life. It is from this spark, which still glows in these regions, that the true, real New Peaceful Life on a Planet Without Wars will be reborn.
TERRITORIES
The only large-scale photo project about real Life. Photography as it is. Instinctive, spontaneous, not planned in advance, unstaged, not formulaic, and most importantly — sincere photography! Urban landscapes, contrasts, street portraits. The main characters are the people who live here… And this is their World. This project is about them! Donetsk, Luhansk, Berdyansk, Mariupol, Melitopol, Svatove, Starobilsk, Sievierodonetsk, Rubizhne, Avdiivka and many, many other cities, towns, and villages. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of such different, yet so similar destinies… These are not just photographs, these are Stories of Life, on the very edge, where every new day is like a whole lifetime. To the living and the fallen!
Children Always Remain Children
Unfortunately, the little heroes of this project are practically deprived of childhood. Many of them do not know at all what New Year is, or gifts on their birthday, or even that such holidays exist at all. One of the most powerful and well‑known series of this project — “Shadows of Hiroshima” (not yet presented on this website) — has been exhibited almost all over the world and twice in Moscow, including at the “Chronicles” exhibition at Gostiny Dvor in January 2023. The project originally had a working title — “274” … that is exactly how many children die daily in the global world from wars and armed conflicts (official UN statistics for 2021). The goal of the project is to draw public attention to this horrifying fact, to listen to children’s voices now, so that we do not have to listen to the voices of shadows in the future.
Being Unrecognized
This project itself is an integral part of the already mentioned projects, complementing and expanding their geography. It is a photo project about that life where officially it should not exist — in unrecognized republics, in disputed territories. Within the framework of this project, I have repeatedly traveled to shoot in Abkhazia, Nagorno‑Karabakh, the territories of the then DPR and LPR. There were attempts to arrange shoots in Ossetia and Palestine, as well as in other countries… but for one reason or another, I was either refused permission to shoot, or the shoots were postponed indefinitely. One way or another, I managed to capture something, though unfortunately very little.
A Russian View. China.
This project was born as an idea in mid‑2023, and I started working on it in February 2024, choosing the Chinese New Year as the starting point. The goal of the project is to introduce the viewer to the daily life of Chinese residents, to create a portrait of this country in its everyday and festive attire. There are indeed many photographs in it. The project is turning out to be bright, rich in Chinese flavor, and very kind. So far, the project covers the cities of Shandong Province — Qingdao and Qingzhou. In the plans — to cover all the major cities and provinces of this country, still quite unfamiliar to the world.
E.V.E. (Emotion Vote Evolution)
This is a unique photo project E.V.E., in which I photograph emotions, and through them — the inner world of a person, hidden behind the mask of generally accepted dogmas and imposed conventions, trying to break through the external — to show the internal. The person who hides inside each of us. The true Self, which can surprise even its owner. The project has several interconnected series dedicated to the process of a person’s transformation into a Human. However, it has long since outgrown its original concept. When you explore the inner self, remember that behind the door you have opened, there will always be another, and so on endlessly until you come face to face with yourself.
How to support?
You can support any of the above projects in a variety of ways, depending on your capabilities and wishes.
— Information support (publication of information about the author’s projects in the media, posts on social networks, preparation of press releases for the author’s exhibitions, and so on).
— Financial support (one of the key types of assistance):
· assistance in purchasing necessary primary and additional equipment, gear, accessories, and other items;
· covering flights, travel, accommodation, meals, partial or full reimbursement of expenses related to shoots within a particular project;
· printing books, photographs for exhibitions, etc.
Write to me if you want to know what is most urgently needed right now.
— Administrative support (extremely necessary and important for the work within projects and their implementation: coordinating shoots, from recommendations to ensuring security in the locations where shooting takes place, organizing exhibitions, providing exhibition halls for shows, and more).
The Humans v.21 project is not a product. It is a path.
Any interaction must respect this path.
Project Geography
From Moscow to Shanghai, from Minsk to Cairo. And the cities where life goes on against all odds.
Russia
42 citiesChina
13 citiesAfrica
10 countriesTurkey
1 cityEgypt
5 citiesBelarus
1 cityConflict Zones
11 cities
Author’s Word
The Humans v.21 project is not only about humanity and the people of today. It is a part of my life. A part of me.
In every frame, in every line of description and article, there is, to varying degrees, a little piece of me.
I am glad to share this part with you. I believe this canvas will resonate in the hearts of many people. And each will see in it their own meaning.
The project is not about trends. I fundamentally do not shoot them. And I probably never will. The project is about our life on this planet. About the life that we, for various reasons, have stopped noticing.
It has no perfection of composition. No ideal shots. I did not strive for that.
After all, our life, our existence — is not perfect. And that is the whole point.
This project will now be present in my life always. I will keep shooting and filling it with frames and stories, as long as I have time in this world. As long as I have the opportunity to shoot.
But this is far from all. Ahead lie many of my searches.
This also includes a separate study of the inner human — E.V.E. (emotions.vote.evolution.). A study overflowing with and inspired by gnosis, philosophy, legends of light and darkness, the search for the divine in the one created “in the image and likeness.” What are we, if we measure the image of the Almighty against ourselves?
I have been shooting the stories of this part for several years. But I will tell about that later.
And there is another story that I will share in the very near future. It was prepared and assembled for almost a year. Filled, polished, honed in order to reveal itself to the world. Very soon it will be presented to the viewer.
I thank everyone who helps me in my filming and supports my searches. Without your help, these projects would not exist.
Now this is our shared history. The history of the Human of the 21st century.
I thank this life for the opportunity to leave this trace. For me, all my friends and loved ones, this project is a canvas of Life. But for Life, we all, and this project, and each of us — are just a tiny fiber in the thread with which it weaves its canvas. The canvas of the Universe.
Write to the author
To get in touch with me, write to me here, or on social media, or call me by phone. From 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM.