Past and memory explored in home-inspired photography exhibition

A new exhibition by photographer Julia Borissova has opened at FotoDepartment in St Petersburg which reworks traditional concepts of the home into unique renditions of domestic reality. Entitled DOM, the Russian word for home and in this case also an acronym for “Document Object Model”, Borissova takes the concept of the home as inspiration for a deeper exploration of memory and history. Creating an alternate reality with her pictures, Borissova, who is from St Petersburg, brings together old and new, juxtaposing faded prints with bright colours and modern photographic effects.

Talking to The Calvert Journal, Borissova said: “I felt the need to go beyond the home, delving into the past in search of memories. The home is a basic concept familiar to everyone, but after a while people stop thinking about what the home really means. I wanted to transform the concept of the home in relation to passing time.”

The exhibition sees the artist reflect black-and-white pictures from her archive through a mirror, which “emphasises not only the nostalgic dimension of the work, but also how vague the boundary is between memory and imagination, past and present.” In a number of her photographs, the walls and ceilings are covered with patterns from traditional Russian carpets, placing firmly them within a Russian context.

Borissova added: “I want to give the viewer the opportunity to immerse themselves in a place which is not an exhibition of photographs but the space of the author’s thoughts, so that they can cross the threshold of the picture and feel ownership over what they see.”

DOM will run until 27 June.