Inspired by the great achievements of the neighboring Russia, following the Presidential directive of putting the population on the ice skates, a lot of Belarusians give their kids to hockey and figure skating sections. Though figure skating perspective in Belarus is quite vague and the material base is weak, parents spent largest part of their lives with their kids, just beyond the ice rink. The lives of the whole families transform according to the training schedule of the kids. Brother, sisters, grandmas and granddads, aunts and uncles – all come to help. They sit, wait, eat, sleep, work and communicate with each other there. It becomes their second home with its own life, just beyond the ice rink.
Katerina Kouzmitcheva is a Belarusian photographer, currently based in Wroclaw, Poland, working at the intersection of genres, documentary and art photography. In her projects she explores the themes of identity, feminism, family relations, themes of particular places, human interaction and personal relations to them.
