Information

‘Total Theater’ photobook: Self-published photobook dummy, edition 12 items, 15×21 cm, hardcover, laser print, 144 pages, thread-stitching binding, 2025 year.

The ‘Total Theater’ book dummy received recognition in several photobook competitions, including Gomma Get Published, OFF Libris, Photobook Award 2025 Encontros da Imagem, Tokyo International Foto Award, BIFA and other. The book is held in the collections of GARAGE and the Carlos Fontes Library.

The book is based on the ‘Total Theater’ photo project, which was shortlisted for the Gomma Grant 2023 and received recognition from international competitions, including awards at the FotoSlovo Award, Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards, and Analog Sparks, as well as special mentions at the Tokyo International Foto Awards and Monochrome Photography Awards.

Photography technique – 35mm film (incl. multiple exposures/projections) and physical objects scanograms.

Statement

Twenty-five years ago, I attended a drama school and came quite close to becoming an actor. Although I made a different life choice, that experience significantly influenced my personality.

In 2023, I embarked on a project-investigation, returning to the theater environment — this time as an external observer. I aimed to reevaluate my experiences and memories. This project was captured at the experimental theater ‘Total Theater’ in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Stepping back allowed me to see things differently. I became fascinated by the subtle layers that shape identity in the world of theater. Within every person, numerous personas coexist: how they see themselves, how they aspire to be. For actors, there are additional layers — the characters they inhabit. Theater becomes a multi-layered image, like the stratified evening mist over a river. From the mist emerge contours of objects and people, yet one cannot be certain what is truly seen — the person themselves or one of their roles.

In this project, the boundary between the audience and the stage, between what happens before and after the performance, becomes blurred. The project has a cyclical nature, mirroring the rhythm of life in the theater – from piece reading and rehearsals to the moment when tired actors head home after the show. It represents a deep personal perception of the theater, shared by both me and the project’s protagonists.

A year after the photos for the project were taken, in 2024, when I decided to create a book, I returned to the theater and didn’t recognize it. Everything had changed. The book turned out to be much more dramatic than I had expected…