Russian Portfolio ("On the Edge of Survival")

This project includes photographs taken in different parts of Russia. The protagonists are inhabitants of villages at the deepest bottom of Russian social life.

Alexandra believes she photographs “real life”. She thinks there is a kind of screen separating a common civilized person from reality. The people in her photographs don’t have that protection and they live through a particular experience of life unknown to most of her audience.

When the system of traditional values in Russia was ruptured her protagonists found themselves at the bottom of society and social relations became a prison for them. With their newfound freedom, they sped into the abyss. Nonetheless, their desire to break the borders of the ordinary is beautiful. Their spirit, daring and boldness charm the author.

Her protagonists live far from all the benefits, promises and the illusions of civilization, do primitive jobs or have no job at all and often find consolation in alcohol. In many cases they didn’t study anywhere, but they are so original and close to folk traditions that they speak like characters from Russian classics. They embody vanishing ways of taking life, feel a strong connection with nature and have an inclination to philosophy, poetry and an ironical perception of themselves and reality.

Alexandra finds soulmates in the people she photographs. She lives with them for weeks in close conditions and achieves a level of trust because of her affection and even love for some of them. A responsive viewer can see not only darkness, but also a subtle beauty in her work.

(Project description by Svetlana Galanova based on the interview with Alexandra Demenkova.)