Olga Chagaoutdinova

The project The Zone (Prisoners) is a series of psychological portraits taken in a women’s prison in the Russian Far East. The intent of this long-term project was to observe human existence in a panoptic and punishing environment. Extended interviews with the prisoners allowed me to investigate the notion of personal identity, virtually extinguished under the pressure and rules of the penal system. Gender issues and the official suppression of sexuality constituted a further aspect of my study. Another important objective was to examine the idea of portraits. The modern world is full of portraits which do not really say anything significant about the subject. In this series I wanted to see if the portrait could tell the viewer something about the situation it captured. Looking at faces as a map of life, eyes as a mirror of the soul and expressions as a witness to the human condition, I wanted the viewer to decide what these portraits conveyed.

Olga Chagaoutdinova’s photo- and video-based work examines domesticity, globalisation and, most recently, suffering in contemporary society. She holds a master’s degree in Russian Language and World Literature from Russia. In Canada she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography in 2005 and an Master of Fine Arts in 2008. Her work has been exhibited extensively in Canada and worldwide.

Work

The Zone (Prisoners), installation.

Location

Rovaniemi