Conceptual nominee

Personal photography project, inspired by two Oe Kenzaburo's novels, "The Silent Cry" and "The Flood Invades My Spirit".

Zoo animals escaped from their confinement and went out to the streets.
Animals are the masters of a new world order and nature reclaims its rights on the planet which has been long ago appropriated by human beings…
A special of “Life After People” television series directed by David de Vries aired on January 21, 2008. Invited scientists speculated about the evolutionary scenarios which might unfold on Earth after the disappearance of humanity. How long would it take Mother Nature to reinstate its rights and erase the memory of our presence on the planet?

“Zoo animals are really the great unknown, depending on whether or not they could escape from their confinement, then things change dramatically...”
John Hadidian, urban ecologist

My photography project is both a warning and a guide for those who are ready for an enthusiastic, passionate, and often futile debate about politics, economy, environment, and demography. Ironically, instead of talking small we can slightly open every enclosure in zoos across the world.
All images are created using film and multiple exposure technique with subsequent scanning of negatives.

Literary manager and photographer
Born in 1984 in Moscow.

Education:
2001–2006—Moscow Aviation Institute, mathematician-engineer.
2009–2012—Institute of Russian Theater, actor of drama and cinema.
2016–2017—Moscow Institute of Professional and Amateur Photography, photojournalist.

2012–present—the literary manager and photographer in the Moscow Hermitage Theater.
Currently live and work in Moscow, Russia.

Selected Awards / Exhibitions

10th Award for the Best Photography Book in Central and Eastern Europe 2017-2018. The 3rd place with the book “Keep the Cages Open Before You Leave", category: contemporary photography.

X International Festival of Photography “Photovisa” 2018, Krasnodar, Russia. The book “Keep the Cages Open Before You Leave" is presented within the First International Photobook Festival "Supercover".

5th Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography in Barcelona 2018. One photo from the series “Keep the Cages Open Before You Leave" was presented within the framework of the Biennial exhibition.

6th Singapore International Photography Festival 2018. The book “Keep the Cages Open Before You Leave" has been selected as part of SIPF Open Call Photo Book Showcase 2018.

Photo festival “International Meetings of Photography 2017”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Project “Keep the Cages Open Before You Leave”—personal exhibition.