TANIA LESHKINA -
LONDON. UK.
27
OCTOBER 2009
Written by
ALEXANDER CONNER
Tania Leshkina (a Moscow native) escorts her viewers into a
world of silence and self-revelation almost unparalleled by
any other contemporary photographer. In her work, there is a
deafening sense of finding where she fits into a world
outside herself. Through her often-stark settings and
straight-forward camera positioning, she is able to make the
viewer question her actions and her awareness of
consequences, if any.

Many of
her current photographs use herself as the primary actor. In
interviews she has given, she has stated that the
self-portrait is a particularly feminine endeavor. However,
her work never once has a whiff of identity politics. Many
images border between photographs for her profile on a
social-networking site and such vulnerable insights into
herself she not dare ever show anyone else. Luckily, she
does.

While
keeping the camera at a distance, a foreign world seems to
open up within her actions. This world screams of
discrepancy with the one we know exists outside the camera’s
lens, but somehow, seems to fit perfectly beside it. We
might ask ourselves if Ms. Leshkina wishes to gently mislead
us against exploring this juxtaposition too deeply, if only
she didn’t announce it so loudly.

Her use of
light (especially in her outdoor photographs) imbues a sense
of wonder and fantasy into this world. One must wonder if
the phrase “light as a feather, stiff as a board” was
invented primarily to describe her transcendent style of
photography. Many times I find myself wanting to launch into
her photographs if only to make sure that the world I’m
living in is still as real as I believe.

Oh yeah,
and she’s only 19.
http://leshkina.com/
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