MIFA 2021 Winner, 1st Place in People (Professional) – “Prozac“
Arseniy Neskhodimov graduated from the Institute of Culture (Kemerovo) in 2003 where he got a BA in photography and cinematography. Since 2008, he has been working as a commercial portrait photographer.
Q: Do you remember the first time you held a camera?
At the age of 20, I watched the film The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) where the main character works as a photojournalist. Back then being in the center of events, to catch the decisive moment was the main condition of good photography.
Q: Tell us a bit more about your winning project and what inspired you to do it?
After 10 years of working as photojournalist I decided that being merely a witness was not enough for me. I had to control the result instead of relying on chance. In 2016 I started directing the set, to create a new reality that would fully reflect my inner world becоme my goal. I was particularly inspired by Gregory Crewdson’s works and wanted to create something cinematic that would tell a story of my mood, my uncertainty and fear of the future.
Q: What type of photos do you like to take in your free time?
In my free time I usually take self portraits that I have been doing for over 5 years.
Q: What genre of photography is new to you that you would like to explore?
I would like to explore still life photography.
Q: Besides a camera, what do you think are the three most important tools of a photographer?
Three most important tools of a photographer are cultural background, persistence and doubts.
Q: How do you know when a body of work is completed?
Someday you just find yourself not able to keep working on the same project. You have started to repeat the same theme and the same trick and at this moment you have to admit that your work has come to the end.
Q: If it could be anything at all, what would your photography dream project be?
I have got a few ideas to realize and all of them sounds pretty good. Honestly I have been dreaming of working with archive photos, instead of making new pictures to tell a story I would like to try using other people’s photos.
Q: If you could take one last photo in your life, what would it be?
Well, that’s a dreadful situation. I would like to take one more picture of my wife.
Q: Who/what is your biggest source of inspiration?
My biggest source of inspiration is paintings. I adore Twentieth-century art especially Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin and Aleksandr Deyneka.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring photographers?
In my view It is always useful to imitate someone. If we are talking about the question of how to search for unique voice you need really fall in love with two or three artists and take an example from them. In any case, everything will turn out in its own way. The main thing is not to copy one artist, but several at once. Not to ape them but to rethink.
