INDEX
Escaping Reality Through Dachas and Saunas, and a Body of Work Born from the Pandemic
While you were in the master’s program in philosophy, you also attended the photography academy Fotografika. What kind of work did you begin creating there?
Kristina: In Russia, there is a tradition of spending time at a second home called a dacha. My family did not have one, but soon after I enrolled at Fotografika, I had the chance to visit a friend’s family dacha.
It was my first time experiencing that kind of space, and I started taking photos there. I borrowed my friend’s grandmother’s clothes and dressed up, almost like cosplay, and I also came up with small performances that could exist within the dacha setting and acted them out. Then I captured those moments through photography.
So you started taking photos at the dacha not as a project, but simply while spending time there, and that eventually developed into ongoing work.
Kristina: Yes, exactly. I was not going there with the intention of shooting. I went to the dacha to spend time with friends, to have parties, to relax, especially during the pandemic. But in that environment, moments I wanted to capture would naturally appear, and they gradually took shape as work.
I was not consciously building a series at first, but when I showed the images to the head of Fotografika, they responded very positively. I then submitted the work to competitions, and it began to receive recognition in different countries. That was how my career as a photographer started.
The work feels very specific to the dacha, offering a glimpse into Russian culture, but at the same time, it also opens up a deeply personal world around you and your friends. What was it about the dacha that drew you in and made you continue photographing there?
Kristina: I think that today, not only in Russia but in many countries, people are becoming exhausted by modern society, and time spent away from the city, surrounded by nature, has become very valuable. Going to the dacha, spending time in the banya, it allows you to relax. In the current political situation, I think it can also function as a kind of escape from reality.
Note: A banya is a traditional Russian sauna. Compared to a typical dry sauna in Japan, it has a lower temperature and much higher humidity, and it is often enjoyed as a social activity with friends and family.
