Gomma Photography Grant 2023
The Way Home, Russia
Photographer
Sara Aue Sobol
The Way Home, Russia
23 Feb, 2024
The Way Home, Russia is a journey from Moscow to Teriberka, a fishing village in Arctic Russia. The pictures are of the inhabitants along the route and the surrounding nature. I have always been drawn to harsh environments, but as soon as I travelled during winter in Russia, I realised that what really attracted me was the closeness I could find among my fellow humans. A closeness that seems to stand out more clearly when it’s surrounded by harsh nature and a challenging everyday life. As a visual storyteller, I am not drawn to show the exotic side of a culture, but rather everyday life, the intimate moments with ourselves and our loved ones - the non-verbal communication.
About the photographer
Sara Aue Sobol
When I was a teenager, I started taking pictures of my everyday life in Verona. I felt what photography means to me - both as a viewer and as the one being looked at. The image became a way for me to express my feelings in a strongly conservative society, where I grew up alone with a mentally ill mother. At the age of 20, I moved to Copenhagen to study at Fatamorgana - the Danish School of Documentary and Art Photography - where I was inspired to change focus from the physical self-portrait to expressing my feelings in interaction with the people I photographed. I mirrored myself in others, and I tried to give their lives a place in my world. Photography became my language and my special connection to my surroundings and the people I photographed. Since my trip, Russia has invaded Ukraine. I have become a mother. The two events are in stark contrast to each other; one represents death and destruction, while the other deals with love and life. I see that the love I feel for my family is also present in the pictures of my fellow Russians. The more cruel the world seem, the greater our need to encounter and reencounter the presence and passion for life that my images aspire to capture
