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 is comprised of portraits taken in the Russian countryside, a project to which she 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 portrait of Sergi shows this gimmer of human hope in a man sitting on the edge of a bed, arms resting on his legs in a slightly hunched over position. His shirt is piling and has a tear, but he is illuminated by an incredible wash of soft light. This life-giving light shows him surrounded by floral patterns on the wallpaper behind him and softens his demeanor.