Contour Maps

The exhibition project “Contour Maps” brings together the works of nine photographers: Elena Anosova, Alexey Bogolyepov, Svetlana Bulatova, Alexander Veryovkin, Igor Volkov, Anna Marchenkova, Fyodor Telkov, Anastasia Tsayder, and Maxim Sher.

Project-based photography emerged in Russia in the early 2000s. Each artist in the exhibition presents a series of images that use artistic language to explore social and cultural phenomena.

The geography of the photographic series spans Abkhazia, Uzbekistan, Siberia, the Urals, the North Caucasus, Tatarstan, and other regions. The map brings together large administrative regions, small villages, and remote forgotten places.

Most of the works were created over a period of more than five years, and many of the artists continue to work on their chosen themes to this day. They explore issues of identity, collective memory, language, as well as local traditions and customs. Across the works from different years, one can trace how gradually the photographers found themselves within the space of their themes and how their visual language evolved and matured.

On the “Contour Maps”, only the outlines are marked: each participant fills them with stories of the territories and the people who inhabit them. Through the transformation accomplished by the artist, the surrounding environment becomes both an object and a work of art — a medium through which the viewer discovers its depth, complexity, and beauty.