Yelena Zhavoronkova was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, and has been living in the United States since 1990. She received a Master’s degree in Industrial Design from the St. Petersburg Academy of Art and Industry, and has worked as a graphic designer for over two decades. Over the past few years, Yelena has been intensively studying and working in photography, which helps her to express her artistic vision. Yelena’s projects are simultaneously very personal and universal in nature, speaking to the viewers on an intimate level that is familiar to all.
Dead End
“Some places are hard to visit or even drive by. For different reasons. Over the years I collected quite a number of these spots in the city of San Francisco, where I live for almost 20 years now. To break the pattern, to remove the spell which is giving me the heart ache every time I am passing by one of those areas, I started to visit them with my camera, reliving the moments from my past. The name of the project, the “Dead End”, is coming from one of the images, and is very accurately describing the situation my life put me into a few years ago. In Russian, the end of the road, “tu-PIK”, doesn’t sound that literate as it sounds in English though could also be used to express the sadness and hopelessness.
Here is the beginning of my long journey, which is still ahead of me, but with a great hope for the best.”
Weekend portfolio selected by Philippe Garner.
