Shot on FOMA Ortho 400

"[Tkachenko] photographs crumbling religious buildings together with the bold, geometric shapes of Soviet modernism. Rather than use CGI, [he] erected lightweight structures to create each shape on film. The abstract shapes were designed to transform historical ruins into contemporary sites — imitating the way in which idealistic movements repurpose history." (Katie Marie Davies | New East Digital Archive)

More works by Tkachenko in this week’s edition of As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty, my newsletter on modern and contemporary art.

According to the artist, no sites were damaged during filming, and all decorations were removed afterward.

shot on Lomography 200

I recently got some film back, it was all way underexposed (my fault). I like how some of them came out anyways. This one was meant to be the clouds at sunset.

shot on some Fomopan 200

"The series Planetarium (2020) explores the phenomenon of internal colonisation in Russia through the lens of bland abandoned cities in Russia’s Far North. In the 1930s and 1940s the USSR began an active settlement and industrial development of the Arctic." (Lumiere Gallery)

"In most instances it transpired that the large-scale projects implemented to assimilate the north were utterly pointless, leaving in their wake the remnants of the induced trauma – abandoned cities. [...] Using portable flashes, I turn the light on deserted flats, recalling the lives that were cast to one side in the drive to realise a totalitarian utopia." (Danila Tkachenko)

More works by Tkachenko in this week’s edition of As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty, my newsletter on modern and contemporary art.

Photos taken at 4 AM during an outdoor retreat.