Wind-up me

Our house is comfortable and safe. Please, sit comfortably. I’m going to tell you a story. It is a fictional story. It is not true. It is not about you, and it is not about me. once upon a time in a land far away…

In 2017, domestic violence was decriminalized in Russia. It means that the aggressor will be arrested only if the victim is killed or seriously injured. The law does not provide for any preventive measures. In more than 90% of cases, victims are women and children. Sexual and psychological abuse in the family is justified by educational measures or by conjugal duties. The topic of domestic violence is taboo in Russian society. To talk about it is considered shameful. Victims who openly report violence face misogyny and victim-blaming, public censure, and harassment. The adoption of the law on domestic violence has been postponed as undermining the spiritual bonds of Russia and threatening the stability of society.

In the project “Wind-up me” I use the form of a social and common fairy tale, a genre in which social difficulties and problems are exposed through the realistic grotesque. It is a fairy tale with no magic. I turn to photography as a medium capable of playing with perception and suppressing the truth. I build metaphorical plots, leaving traces that stretch a thread from fiction to reality. I speak in a veiled way about what one is not supposed to talk about in Russian society.

“Wind-up me” is a reference to a clockwork toy, which is subordinated to the Master.

I’ll tell you a story. It is a fictional story. It is not true. Nobody will believe you. Do not wash your dirty laundry in public. This chicken has long been dead, this fish is rotten. I’ll tell you a story… Love will come. Later. It’s your fault. And they lived happily ever after.