Mila Teshaieva is a Berlin-based artist and photographer originally hailing from Kyiv. In her practice, Teshaieva is especially interested in problems of constructed communities and collective memory. Her works have been exhibited worldwide, including recent solo exhibitions at the MIT Museum Boston, Museum of European Cultures in Berlin, the Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee, USA, among many others. She has published two monographs: Promising Waters (2013) and InselWesen (2016).
Recommended by Anna Zekria
In her 2016 series InselWesen (Island-being), Teshaieva immerses herself in the life of the North Frisian island Föhr
InselWesen, 2016. The island of Föhr is such a popular tourist destination that the influx of visitors can become disruptive to the traditional way of life
InselWesen, 2016. The series documents the remaining traditions of this isolated island through portraits of its inhabitants, revealing powerful lasting bonds between people and the place
InselWesen, 2016. Teshaieva uses a special technique—light painting, where people are photographed in complete darkness, and a gentle handheld light is employed as a paintbrush to reveal the fragments of the scene through long-time exposure
InselWesen, 2016. The artist underlines the collaborative nature of the process: these works rely on a close interaction between the photographer and the people portrayed in the project
InselWesen, 2016
InselWesen, 2016
