Daria Trofimova

Real world and virtual reality are often confronted by one another, and the visual space of our everyday life is saturated with electronic links, digital images or images that reference digital culture. “Links” is a project conceived in the form of a zine that explores the nature of the essentially hybrid living space of modern man. Images from the photographer’s personal archive on the spreads are interspersed with screenshots and the fabric of reality is woven into the structural elements of the website. The traditional format of the book spread is dynamically linked to the architecture of the internet space and the layout of the book page collides with the non-linearity of the website. “Links” become the answer to all those who still suggest that virtual space is illusory and strictly separate it from the reality of the subject world.

National and ethnic identities sometimes come together in bizarre ways. One of its most interesting and appealing elements is national mythology: an inspiring story in which the values and character of a nation are sought to be expressed. Myths form the basis of culture, are used by political regimes and foster discord between neighbors: modern globalized society exploits both the commercial and ideological potential of mythology at the same time. In the series “Betweenland”, Daria Trofimova turns to the theme of national myth, exploring the phenomenon of parks with wooden sculptures on the outskirts of provincial Russian towns. Wooden architecture, Koshchey the Immortal, the Three Bogatyrs, Ivan-Tsarevich and even Uncle Styopa are included in a new canon of “pseudo-Russian” visuality and into a new conventional Russian tradition. In Trofimova’s photographs, the figures appear in the middle of a bleak and desolate urban landscape, deepening the sense of the gulf between the magical and colorful world of the fairy tale and the imperfect reality.