ALEX A. NAANOU
His compositions appear arranged. Everything is planned down to the very last detail. However, the young photographer Alex A. Naanou (born in 1980) never stages the everyday scenes he captures in and around Moscow. Interaction is generated by Naanou‘s actual presence, as he is unable to make himself invisible to the masses. His role as a photographer is perceived by the protagonists, but in a way he actually becomes part of the event. The only control he has of the subject is through the position, time and angle of the depiction - everything else is determined purely by chance and a bit of luck. Born in Kuwait, Naanou initially fled to Syria with his parents and brother after his homeland was invaded by Iraqi troops in 1991. The son of a fashion designer and an architect grew up in a creative environment, but decided to study computer science after moving to Moscow. Nonetheless, photography remains his main communication tool. His dynamic, authentic and tangible photographs of everyday Moscow life incorporate a wealth of comical situations with a large portion of curiosity and a little tongue-in-cheek humour, always typified by <typical Russian> stereotypes.
SERGEY CHILIKOV
<Every photo must mirror an underlying sentiment,> says Sergey Chilikov about his work. And there really is a strong sense of emotion which runs through all his photographs, whether they are of naked women on a beach or old Russian housewives in their dilapidated homes. Since the middle of the 1970s, Chilikov, who has a doctorate in philosophy, has been tracing the secret of the Russian soul with his camera. In the rural republic of Mari El, where he lives, he focuses on the lives of normal people and has developed a unique visual language that prevents him turning everyday country life into a romantic backdrop.
Chilikov's photographic career began in 1976 in the creative group <The Fact> together with the artists Mikhailov, Evlampiev, Likhosherst and Voetskiy. Since 1989, he has been on a photographic journey through rural Russia - far away from the hustle and bustle of urban life and big city anonymity. He provides a weird and wonderful glimpse into the Russian soul and presents a totally different picture of Russia than the one a western observer expects.
