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 →]
Слово от автора
Знаете, от кого зависит то, каков наш Мир, наша Планета, наша Страна сегодня и каким они будут завтра?
Подойдите к зеркалу и посмотрите на себя. Это — Вы! Да, именно от вас лично зависит настоящее, будущее и даже прошлое нашей общей Вселенной.
Перестаньте думать, что от вас ничего не зависит. Что-то, что вы делаете, никому не нужно и ничего не изменит. Изменит. Ещё как! Взмах крыла бабочки может вызвать ураган на другом краю планеты.
Главное — делайте! Творите, создавайте, любите, в конце концов — просто Живите!
Просыпаясь утром, думайте, чем новым и прекрасным вы сможете наполнить наступающий день. Помните, что другого такого дня не будет. И другого такого вас — тоже.
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.
China. A Russian View
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).
Project Geography
From Moscow to Shanghai, from Minsk to Cairo. And cities where life continues despite everything.
Russia
37 citiesChina
13 citiesAfrican Countries
10 countriesTurkey
1 cityEgypt
5 citiesBelarus
1 cityConflict Zones
11 cities
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.