Yura Taralov
The process of pausing the time to reconsider the surrounding world, the current possibilities, and the familiar point of view often leads to breakthroughs. The innovation and creativeness come from the hardship of experiencing alienation and the uninvited change of habits.
Yura Taralov, a photographer from Russia, takes on an experiment to learn about and unveil the physical body. The work with nudity became a revelation during the year of lockdowns, which affected the research presented with the project — A True Home. The body was not the only or the main focus, rather the gaze into the ability of the model to reveal the most truthful self unbound by the imposition of society on what's expected.
We speak with Yura Taralov about the project A True Home to learn more about the concept and the main drive behind his work. Yura explains about the change in personality that is connected to circumstances, “They begin to show themselves from different sides, from the brightest to the darkest.” We discuss the shift in his approach to photography which led him to work with the body and research the deeper layers of the personality of his models. And we close by speaking about the technical side of photographing the black and white portrait of a young woman in two variations.
‘When you are at home, alone with yourself, you stop being someone to someone else. You remain only for yourself and accept yourself exactly as you are.’’
Tell about the story and the main idea that led you to this project.
First of all, I based this project on my inner feelings, current inner conflicts, and state. During the lockdown, as well as this summer, I spent a lot of time alone with myself and tried to experience who I really am. But besides my inner voice, outside the walls of my apartment, I could hear sex on one side and fighting on the other. I tried to find peace within. When you are at home, alone with yourself, you stop being someone to someone else. You remain only for yourself and accept yourself exactly as you are. I thought that people who live with each other for a long time become tired of hiding their real selves. They begin to show themselves from different sides, from the brightest to the darkest.
‘There is me, there is the camera, and there is a personality, a personality that is not hidden by a mass of clothes. The emphasis is on emotions, on folds and feelings, on gaze, on muscles, and on curves.’
One of the main themes you approach with your photography is the body, often the nude body. What is in the aesthetic of the body that fascinates you and you’re working to reveal?
I remember I used to think that using a body in photography was terrible. It was so easy to ruin everything, there was a kind of vulgarity, and all the aesthetics were immediately lost. And I didn't really like to get naked — I don't know why. After a while, I began to open up trying to work in this direction, and I realized that when I shoot a body, I disclose the truth. There is me, there is the camera, and there is a personality, a personality that is not hidden by a mass of clothes. The emphasis is on emotions, on folds and feelings, on gaze, on muscles, and on curves. The pictures reflect both of us, the model and me. Sometimes I still like to add clothes, but they don't take on so much attention anymore, just as a small detail of what was before.
‘She begins to open up, crossing some inner line, feeling unprotected at first, twisting her sleeve and squeezing her eyes shut, and eventually opening her eyes.’
What are some of your personal or professional discoveries during the long period of lockdowns and societal changes?
Of course, there have been attempts to shoot remotely with facetime, but I realized that this doesn't work for me at all because of my habit of improvising on the shooting and facilitating the model's interaction with random objects. I had some experience in streaming, a collaboration with Pandora brand. But my main discovery was selling my work remotely abroad. It really helped me to stay afloat financially.
Let’s discuss one of the images from the project, the black and white portrait of a young woman in two variations with her eyes closed and opened. What was the emotion you were working to achieve with your direction of the model?
This image is about innocence. That's the emotion I was working to achieve. I asked the model to experience as if she didn't stand in front of the camera, but she opened up in front of a person (a viewer), she was pure, young, and innocent, and there were her emotions. She begins to open up, crossing some inner line, feeling unprotected at first, twisting her sleeve and squeezing her eyes shut, and eventually opening her eyes. She just doesn't know what comes next.
Which moment from this project is most precious to you?
It's hard to single out a specific moment, as the project has been a collection of images since lockdown. Each shoot had its own mood, character, and worth. But perhaps the most valuable thing to me is when people I work with trust me completely and are willing to do anything I say, like "don't breathe."
The Project (editing by Veronika Kabanova)
A true home becomes a part of ourselves. The part that began to unfold even more during the isolation. At home, people can afford more, take off their masks, do what they want to, destroy or create both themselves and those with whom they are in the same space. Boundaries cease to exist, and the concept of 'personal' becomes a kind of conditionality. A lot is happening behind the facades of our houses and apartments - from laziness and virginity to madness and violence, desire and flourishing.
