Alexander Chekmenev: The Donbas
© Alexander Chekmenev
Misfits
In 2015 Alexander Chekmenev was interviewed by Eugene Safonov. *
Below is an excerpt from that interview concerning his series "Street People" and "Luhansk B&W".
“There you have it – ridiculous is a good word. Misfits, because they don’t fit this reality. There are many ordinary people walking down the street, I’m not interested in shooting them. Ridiculousness is probably what I am looking for. These are the forgotten people. It could be they do not fit on purpose – to attract attention. And in general, if there are people like this, it means there’s something wrong with us.
People of the street. This was more appropriate. And ‘homeless’ sounds insulting already. It’s a shame when they say that Bob Mikhailov shoots the homeless. It could be that some of them were homeless, that is, with no fixed abode. But many people I shot did have a home. They just have this way of life. You see, on TV you see one thing – everything’s nice, happy people in suits. And then you walk out on the street and see, say, Uncle Volodia, who has eight prior convictions. And if you wonder why, they were for welfarism. Half a year after release they locked him up for a year again. Because he didn’t work on principle.”
* Alexander Chekmenev: I’m Interested in Collecting Pieces of the Past. Bird in Flight, 10 September 2015, by Eugene Safonov
Read the full interview in Bird in Flight publication
Image Gallery: Street People (1994 - 1999)
Image Gallery: Luhansk B&W (1993 - 1999)