White Spot (2023 –)

There are cities and even regional centers in the central part of Russia that are not favored by the attention of the media and mass tourists.  

Lipetsk, Tambov, Yelets seem to be historical cities, but it seems like their chronicle history has stopped: as an informational case, a white spot on the map.  They don’t talk about these places in travel blogs and in the news — except for incidents.  There are also few pictures on the websites of news agencies, and most of them about architecture or the visit of some politician. But there are no white spots on the map. Moreover, in places with a considerable part of the population. There are many people living there with their dreams, plans, lifestyle, and a unique local vibe. 

In this case, I do not focus on certain people and their stories, but make my project in the format of diary, having traveled from Tula to Syzran. At the same time, there were no goals to make any accents, including political ones. Both ultra-patriots and relocants urge to take their side in a categorical and declarative form. But this is not a declarative project, and not everything happens in Russia is related to the events in Ukraine. In addition, the idea of the project appeared before 2022, and it would be dishonest to abandon it. Of course, it’s not a nonfiction to deliberately avoid this topic, but nevertheless, I avoided strengthening both negative and hyperpositive connotations and proceed from a pure visual — “what I see is what I sing.” This approach seems to me to be the most impartial in this story. This opinion is not a political manifesto, but a possible way of work.