RUSS LAND

This photo project started in 2014 and kept running through 2016, combining different stories, inspired with Russian folklore and dark side of fairy tales. Most of kokoshniks, masks and outfits made by the artist as well as photographs. None of works had been digitally manipulated.
 
  FAIR MAIDEN

FAIR MAIDEN

Analogue from October 2014
Red is a near universal symbol of love and passion worldwide. In Russian culture red is elemental: Red Square, the red bricks of the Kremlin, the red flag of Communism…However, Russia’s main square is named “Red” not due to the entourage of the Kremlin’s red walls or the red-colored St Basil’s Cathedral. “Red Square” in Russian is Krasnaya ploschad, and the first word used to mean “beautiful” (krasiviy in modern Russian). “Red” or krasniy in Russian derives from Kra — the name of the ancient Slavic pagan goddess of tenderness and the daughter of Roda (the goddess of fertility). The series “Red Beauty” was heavily influenced by my research into Slavic culture, etymology, roots and beliefs, which were destroyed hundreds of years ago, transformed into fairy tales and ballads, and lost the purity of their meaning. Symbolism was used to represent this transformation through metaphors and colors. This photo series is devoted to the transformation of maidens into brides in pagan times. Unmarried girls used to wear red belts and head ribbons, which they had to take off after marriage.

All images are copyrighted © 2013 - Present Uldus Bakhtiozina.