My grandfather had two shops that sold groceries and stationary, but they both closed in the s and he started selling alcohol from the house. People who came for the women would come to our place for a drink and as a kid I would serve them alcohol. There is a world beyond this. Growing up in a brothel one of the things you definitely have is freedom; I was seeking that freedom when my mum died.
I would always go because they had good food. Zana came there as a volunteer because she wanted to teach the kids from the brothels how to use a camera. I was already doing watercolours at the time so for me it was a new medium. I wanted to take unconventional photographs.
I remember with my first roll of film I shot some dogs and garbage; everyone else took photos of their family but I was too embarrassed. Zana asked why I photographed garbage and shutters and wires β I found a certain beauty in things being different. It was the honest opinions of kids and it helped us grow together. It matured us as people. We were talking about photographs, but whatever we said we had a voice and someone listening to us.
We had something to talk about and working together as a group empowered us. We became this group β a group with a voice β and people started looking up to us. Zana put me into a boarding school and I lost touch with her for three years. They were just guests and they had cameras, we thought they were doing it for their memories. One of the biggest criticisms of his work is that it is too beautiful, but I like that aspect of it because you can do street photography and make it beautiful.
For me an image has to haunt you, it has to stay with you, only then is it an image. Somehow the image has to remain in your system. Grab it in the Huck Shop now or Subscribe today to make sure you never miss another issue. Coming Home β Having once been held up as a symbol of Russian youth activism and rebellion, the experimental duo are now living in exile. Their latest album explores their new reality. One second closer to midnight β While the rolling news cycle, intensifying climate crisis and rapidly advancing technology can make it feel as if the end days are upon us, newsletter columnist Emma Garland remembers that things have always been terrible, and that is a natural part of human life.
