Awaken Sense of Alarm
Artem Nadyozhin is a fashion and portrait photographer from Kyiv, Ukraine. Artem explores reality which finds its outcome through the prism of the individual perception of the scene. The uncanny vision is a breakthrough, a schism between what is and how it can be interpreted or seen.
In ‘Awakening Sense of Dumb Alarm Note’ Artem travels with Mari, the model in the series, to the abandoned location, the old bus depot, built in the '70s. The scouting for the bus depot and the ruined building nearby was by his friend, Roma, who finds inspiration in exploring new places and mostly the story behind the small items, parts of the interior or exterior and what those can tell about the place.
The wooden desks from this decade, the light bright color of the interior, old square TV sets, the cracked light blue walls, and the crooked floor create a peephole to the past. The city is visible from the top floor of the old structure and it lives while the rooms in which the action takes place are long forgotten. Mari with her tenderness fills the dusty space with breath, inhales and exhales... finding momentum and harmony with the undone vertebrae of the floor.
The wooden desks from this decade, the light bright color of the interior, old square tv sets, the cracked light blue walls, and the crooked floor create a peephole to the past. The city is visible from the top floor of the old structure and it lives while the rooms in which the action takes place are long forgotten. Mari with her tenderness fills the dusty space with breath, inhales and exhales... Finding momentum and harmony with the undone vertebrae of the floor.
‘I already saw in my head this picture of a swollen parquet and naked female ribs together.’
What did this project start from? Tell about the process of getting ready for this shoot.
Artem: To be honest, my inspiration a lot of times comes from my friend's Instagram, Roma. He is the best Kyiv explorer, he is also a location manager as his half time job. He took a snap of this abandoned hall.
I had an obsession for a year to get there. I already saw in my head this picture of a swollen parquet and naked female ribs together.
Once we had it approved to get in, I invited the lady from Instagram I never met before, Mari. And of course, before that, I had shown to her Roma's pics of this dusty place - and she agreed.
Tell about this forgotten place: what floor were you at, what was it used for before, is it a school, a university?
Roma:That location is popular for being a big futuristic Soviet bus depot from 1973 with a lot of old buses inside the garage building.
Artem: It would be a cliche to shoot there.
You’re an expert in finding incredible places to shoot at, abandoned buildings, and beautiful architecture. How do you usually scout for a location?
Artem: If you don't mind passing this one to my friend Roma who is the real expert...
Roma: Thanks! :) Sometimes nice door handle can give you more information about location than people who are living or working there. I’m always trying to get behind the closed door or places I have never been to. I also use Google Maps and Wikimapia to understand where I am.
Roma: I was always interested to get inside other buildings in that territory. The place where Artem took those pics is an administrative building of that depot, that was the last, 7th floor, it was used for different sessions, rewards, communist speeches, etc. As for me, I love to explore every corner, old wallpapers, photos, signs, materials, furniture, etc. The exterior of that building is quite simple, but the interior, as you can see, was made with strong materials, it is still in a good condition despite the fact that the cell is already broken, and in wintertime it gets wet.
In one of the shots, Mari is going through some negatives. What are those?
Artem: I think those are slides of a driving lesson class for the bus drivers, I guess, on retraining.
What was the funniest moment during that day?
Artem: It may be boring, but I really don’t recall such. Maximum, the model brought me a peach = )
