Gomma Photography Grant 2025
Standby Mode
Photographer
Ekaterina Bovkunova
Standby Mode
15 Feb, 2026
« This project reflects my inner perspective—an attempt to reveal what I conceal beneath the surface. It explores how uncertainty and fear shape my reality, examining both my physical and emotional state, where each day unfolds in anticipation.Soon, I will reach the age my mother was when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. We do not know whether I—or my children—have inherited it. All we can do is wait.Parkinson’s is a hereditary neurodegenerative condition that gradually impairs nerve cell function in the brain, affecting movement. Symptoms include tremor, rigidity, slowness, and balance disorders. Its exact causes remain unknown.In this work, metaphor becomes a way to navigate confusion and fear. Through photography, internal experiences take form and become visible. Working with family photographs, I deconstruct and alter their layers. Faces blur, gestures dissolve, and a distorted, trembling reality emerges. Photography moves beyond documentation to become a fragile surface of memory.I wonder whether I will recognize the boundary between “before” and “after.”Society often remains unprepared to confront Parkinson’s, perceiving it as something to conceal, even as a source of shame. The illness becomes a metaphor for instability and anxiety. This project seeks to challenge that perception, opening space for dialogue about vulnerability, adaptation, and inclusion. »
About the photographer
Ekaterina Bovkunova
Ekaterina Bovkunova is a photographer from St. Petersburg, born in 1982. She graduated from the Russian State University of Service and Economics, later finding her true calling in photography. Inspired by the world of visual art, she began studying the medium in depth in 2015, training at Igor Sakharov’s photography school and attending various seminars and workshops. In 2023, she continued her education at the art photography school of Elena Sukhoveeva and Viktor Khmel.Since 2025, Ekaterina has been pursuing a Master’s degree at the St. Petersburg State Academy of Art and Industry named after A.L. Stieglitz, Faculty of Design, specialising in Art Business. Since 2024, she has also continued her studies at the Photografika Photography Academy, further developing her practice in project-based photography.Ekaterina’s work takes the form of visual essays that explore the complex relationships between humans and their surrounding environment. She focuses on themes of ecological imbalance, social fragmentation, and the search for identity amid global transformation — where traditional notions of the “self” are increasingly questioned. Her camera becomes an analytical tool, revealing subtle yet significant connections between individual experience and the collective challenges of contemporary life. Each project unfolds as a layered statement, creating space for reflection and dialogue.For Ekaterina, photography is not only a means of documenting reality but also of transforming its perception. Her projects often build on contrasts — between the personal and the universal, destruction and hope, loss and renewal. She invites the viewer not merely to observe, but to engage in a process of reflection, asking questions about our place in the world and our responsibility toward its future. Her works function not only as artistic statements, but also as a call to awareness — a reminder that art can be a powerful catalyst for changing consciousness.— 06/23/2025 Project Finalist, Gomma Black and White Award 2025.
