Expectations by Simon Crofts is a photographic ode to Ukraine, which the Scottish photographer has been visiting for over two decades. At times, Crofts’ perspective is up close and personal, recording the crowds in a sweaty marshrutka or the chorus of frogs in the wildlife. At other times, we encounter the country from a distance, in quotations from Russian literature or Crofts’ memories of cycling to Moscow from Germany in the 1990s. Crofts was weary of symplifying a whole nation, nor defining it by recent conflict. “I was determined that my book shouldn't simplify around a single narrow theme along the lines that classic photojournalism expects. I wanted to include not only pictures, but words too, to encourage a search for symbolism and emotion,” he says.
Expectations is available from inthelandofproject.com, or find our more about the travels behind his project here.