Herbarium: preserving the spirit of the village

In his project Herbarium photographer Igor Samolet attempts to construct a very personal narrative from his time living in a small village in the autonomous Republic of Komi in northern Russia. “Living among the dwindling population of the village and with no access to the Internet, I started to feel more in contact with nature. For me, the village is synonymous with childhood, light-heartedness and adventure", he said. Samolet also used old objects that he found in the ancient house he rented in the village to build temporary installations that he lit with neon. In so doing he created a subjective interpretation of his relationship with the village's past and present. “A Herbarium is where you dry leaves so they become memories,” says Samolet. “In a similar way, here my photographs are like leaves that I save as a memory of this place.”