"I want people to see what I saw: a hidden world that existed before and that still exists in memories. Somebody's still dreaming about it. I want to bring people there."
Evgenia Arbugaeva's (b. 1985, Siberia) series Weather Man (2013) and Tiksi (2010) combine documentary and narrative styles and reflect the photographer’s romantic fascination and childhood nostalgia for the Arctic. Amani (2016) documents a former malaria research center in Tanzania. Between 2018-19, supported by a National Geographic Society Storytelling Fellowship, Arbugaeva travelled to three more outposts in the extreme north of Russia, creating three further chapters: A lighthouse on the isolated Kanin peninsula populated only by the keepers and their dog; Dikson, a now derelict ghostly town that yielded the tremendous spectacle of the aurora borealis during Arbugaeva’s stay there; and finally the far eastern region of Chukotka home to the Chukchi community, who still maintain the traditions of their ancestors, living off the land and sea with Walrus and whale meat as the main components of their diet. Featured in her first major solo exhibition Hyperborea (9 Oct 20 – 21 Jan 21) at The Photographers' Gallery are four ‘chapters’ presenting visual stories of life in the Russian Arctic and continues a fascination with her homeland.
Limited edition prints from £1,700 + VAT.