Round the clock
Russia is the biggest country in the world, whose economy is growing with huge steps everyday. The biggest incomes come from gas and oil, but an important source (not because of the amount of profits, but because of the socio-economic fact) are the local stores in residential zones of cities and villages. Many of them are opened 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For the average Russian citizen this schedules are common, people are so used to this abnormal normality and it would be very strange if it didn’t exist.
For me, these stores are a projection of a dream-government, where everything works round the clock, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and where people do everything they can, to save a little money. This is a dehumanizing perspective, where the right to rest is abolished by the people itself. The most frightening part, is that society doesn’t realize this.
The photographs were done with a Soviet middle format camera, in an attempt to see contemporary Russia with “socialist” eyes. The pictures were taken between 00 and 06 AM in popular residential neighborhoods of St. Petersburg.
1985, Riobamba – Ecuador. Graduated from the St. Petersburg faculty of photojournalism Galperin. Winner of the Sonimagfoto Grant (Barcelona, 2013). Finalist of the Fotovisura 2010 and 2012 grants and the Exposure 2011 photography contest. Participant of several group exhibitions in Europe, Russia and Latin America. Solo exhibitions include: “24 Horas” (2012, Quito, Ecuador) and “Inexistent people” (2011, St. Petersburg, Russia). Multimedia projects screened at the Slideluck LondonV 2013 (UK) and Bursa Photofest 2012 (Turkey). Publications include photo-books and on-line and printed newspapers and journals in Europe and Latin America. Nowadays is a member of the documentary photography collective Runa Photos.
