TUMBLEWEED

Presidential B.Yeltsin Centre. 3a Yeltsin St. Until 23 October 2016

This exhibition continues a series of MAMM projects devoted to the history of Russian photography and the history of Russia in photography. Although united by the umbrella term ‘school’, it represents Novokuznetsk photographers whose aims were diametrically opposed, both in terms of worldview and aesthetics. In 1978 Vorobyov, Sokolaev and Alexander Trofimov formed the TRIVA association for creative photography, which was officially registered two years later and became the first creative group of photographers registered in the USSR. The TRIVA members had their own concept of photography, gradually and uncompromisingly developed, therefore we may refer to these photographers as a school. There was complete absence of the staged composition that dominated official Soviet photographic art. They also practised strict non-interference in the event under documentation, rejected artificially created ‘artist embellishment’ and printed full-frame images. Vladimir Sokolaev describes the principles and interests of the group as follows: ‘The theory of photography was very seriously examined, its origins as reportage (...). Use of the regular 50 mm lenses became a determining factor, since they produced photography that retained a perspective customary for the human eye, with the sense of a ‘window on events.’ The method of immersion in an event became the basic photographic technique. To emphasise the all-encompassing nature of the document we began printing the whole negative, including the perforations. After a while we omitted the perforations in our prints, it seemed too ‘arty’, but we still print the full negative, to this day...’

Yekaterinburg Gallery of Modern Art. 32 Krasnoarmeyskaya St. Until 23 October 2016

George was born in Nizhny Tagil, Russia in 1985. In 2004 he graduated from the Ural College of Arts and Crafts with honors where he majored in environmental design. In 2005 George took up photography professionally. Since 2008 he has been taking part in well-known international photo contests such as Photography Masters Cup (USA), The Spider Awards (USA), National Portrait Gallery Awards (UK), Maestro Photo Contest (Russia). In 2011 George Mayer won the Russian photo contest Young Photographers of Russia. The contest projects were exhibited in Kazan, Moscow, at the international art festival in Marsciano (Italy) and were published in professional editions. In 2011 George Mayer arranged his first personal exhibition in FotoliaLAB Gallery (Berlin, Germany). In 2012 he was a finalist of the contest Young Photographers of Russia after which he was admitted to the Union of Russian Art Photographers. In the same year he was nominated for the award in the photo contest Sony World Photography Awards, the exhibition was held in Somerset House (London, UK). In 2015 he participated in the project Perfumer organized by the art center Perinnye Ryady in St. Petersburg (Russia). With his project “Shadows” he won Photographer of the Year at International Photography Awards. The award ceremony took place in Carnegie Hall (New York, USA). George was nominated for the first prize of IPA and Lucie Awards statuette.