EVGENIA ARBUGAEBA

http://www.evgeniaarbugaeva.com/

Evgenia was born in Siberian town Tiksi in Russia. She received BA degree in art management from International University in Moscow. In 2009 graduated from International Center of Photography Photojournalism and Documentary Program.
She now works as a freelance photographer between Russia and New York.

Evgenia nació en la ciudad siberiana de Tiksi, en Rusia. Se graduó en dirección artística por la Universidad Internacional de Moscú. En 2009 se graduó por el Centro Internacional de Fotografía, Fotoperiodismo y Programa Documental.

Ahora trabaja como fotógrafo freelance entre Rusia y Nueva York.

TISKI

<In the days of the Soviet Union, Tiksi was an important military and scientific base. People came from all over the country, some driven by employment opportunities, and others driven by a romantic dream of the far North. As introduction implies although the town is very far north and surrounded by vast expanses of tundra, there was an abundance of beauty.

After the fall of the USSR government stopped financing it’s Northern projects and many little towns were left to their own survival. In 1991 my family, along with many others, boarded the windows of our home and left for a bigger city. I was 8 when we left, and ever since then I have never been able to forget Tiksi. The scenery, the colors, and the moments of pure childhood imagination made a lasting impression on me. I have always wanted to be that little girl again.

Last winter and fall for the first time in 18 years I went back to Tiksi. The scenery was still there, but the town was nearly abandoned.

I met Tanya, a young girl who reminded me of myself when I was a kid. She had a similar fascination with the sea and the tundra, and a similar urge to explore her environment. Soon after meeting Tanya, she told me how much she admired Jaques-Yves Cousteau (the red hat is a tribute to her hero). She quickly became my friend and my guide to Tiksi.

In the fall of 2012, Tanya’s family – just like my own 18 years ago – will leave Tiksi behind. They see no future in the small town and plan to move to a larger city.

On a personal level I want to document my connection to Tiksi. With my new friend Tanya as a subject, I want to capture Tiksi, both the way it really is, as well as the way it exists in a child’s imagination. With other projects I have a fear of making images too pretty, but for this project I abandon that fear. I want these pictures to be like postcards—nostalgic postcards from the imagination of a young girl in Tiksi.

On a more general (but related) level, I want to capture the universal feeling of being a child, it seems that photography shares a great deal with the spirit of a child’s imagination: the ability to see the extraordinary in the ordinary and sometimes even sad things.>

Evgenia Arbugaeva

FOLLOWING THE REINDEER 

SIQUIENDO AL RENO

To see others of her interesting series, visit her website.

Para ver otras de sus interesantes series, visita su sito web.

Evgenia Arbugaeba.