Alya Yesipovich. No Comment

The exhibition introduces the No Comment project by Petersburg photographer Alla Esipovich, known by her work in SPb Sobaka.ru magazine (Portraits rubric), as well as by her publications in ELLE and Petersburg in Nevsky magazines. The project, developed in 2003, consists of two series of direct black-and-white photographs, made without any computer revision or print focuses. They tell the story of a "small" man in this giant world, of loneliness and the inevitable process of human aging. No Comment is a project which needs no commentary. The first series of the project contains photographs of elderly people who live in St Petersburg, both men and women, dressed and naked, famous and unknown, sitting for the photographer at home, in their flats. They represent a certain social, age, and ethnographic class. Alla Esipovich's photographs, like a mirror, do not show these people's past, but rather the imprint left by their lives on their faces and bodies. The second series is devoted to the Germanist Alexei Ingelevich and his family. Alla Esipovich depicts him in everyday situations - in his flat and outdoors; she shows how a physically disabled person can live his life fully and excitingly. Alla Esipovich was born in Leningrad and graduated from St Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts with the specialisation in cultural studies and art expertise. After taking a course on photo journalism at the House of Journalists, Alla Esipovich studied the history of photography by Vladimir Nikitin, a professor of St Petersburg State University; and later attended American photographer Deborah Turbeville's course. A participant of several large photo exhibitions, Alla Esipovich won an award of the SeZam-2002 contest for her Portraits series in the SPb.Sobaka.ru magazine. A catalogue for the exhibition has been published.