Anastasia Khoroshilova Moscow, Russia, b. 1978

Bezhin Lug (Bezhin Meadow) is the second major series produced by Anastasia Khoroshilova in her prolific career as a photographer. The series are portraits taken in the Russian countryside, a project to which she recently returned in 2015-18. Bezhin Lug is inspired by writings and films produced about transitional moments of the past, present, and future of  Russia. For this project, she states, “I simply wanted to make familiar and individually recognizable the faces of the people who have lived for generations in a special, often tragic dimension of the history and time of my country. I sought for at least a glimmer of human hope, honor and dignity.” The image, Barsuki depicts a wall with two calendars and a religious poster of what appears to be the Virgin Mary with an image of Jesus in her chest. Underneath the posters is a dresser that doubles as an ironing board with four dolls and an iron. The dresser top functions both in service to everyday domestic needs and for display.