I do share my interview and pictures taken from the project ''Road to Petergof'' (a book will be self-published soon) appeared in the ''Analog'' magazine recently.
am — What is «Road to Petergof» about?
EV — In most of my projects, I explore a particular place (space, territory), their changes in the context of time and historical landmarks, environment problems, interaction with human activity, personal relationships and the myths of the place. Here I focus my attention on a very particular piece of land: the territory of the road from Saint Petersburg to Petergof, a tract established by Peter the Great in 1710 to connect the newly built capital to a few monarch’s suburban residencies, which resulted in a huge architectural ensemble that, according to Peter’s ideas, had to overshadow the road from Paris to Versailles. At that time this was a new look at the relationship between Man and Nature. Nowadays, once integrated, the landscape-urban metropolitan area system has collapsed; the onslaught of the city brings harm to the aesthetics of the landscape. The most valuable Manor ensembles, which were in the past a symbol of harmonious coexistence between Man and Nature, have disappeared.
am — What were you most interested in capturing with these images?EV — I wanted to see my native city nature through the example of a small, but important area, and through the eyes of a citizen of the 21-st century. I wanted to look at the changes that have happened to it during the time I have lived here, and finally to understand for myself whether I agree with these changes or not. Within the series I tried to take a phenomenological approach, which would observe the space as it is, in its very particularity way, paying attention to its quaint juxtapositions and acknowledging the actual forms of life lurking among the ruins of the Romantic imagination.
