Andy Rocchelli: “Russian Interiors” – Intimate Portrait of Women in their Private Spaces

Andy Rocchelli graduated in 2007 at the Polytechnic University of Milan where he was awarded a master's degree in Communications Design. Subsequently, he was trained by Magnum Photos photographer Alex Majoli. In 2008, with other four photographers, he founded Cesura, a photographic collective aiming to produce independent projects. He worked as a freelance photojournalist with a diversified curriculum. He documented the Arab Spring in Libya and Tunisia, the violation of human rights in Kyrgyzstan and Ingushetia, the conditions of migrants in Southern Italy and organized crime.

Italy – 

Andy started to travel to Russia in 2010; there he spent a considerable amount of time working asa freelance photographer. During this time he covered several stories in different places.The book Russian Interiors, however, sees the light as side job to cover his expenses while staying in Moscow; he challenged local professional competitors, accustomed to work in dedicated environments, by offering low cost portraits to single women in their apartments. Quickly this expedient bloomed into a hefty body of work.

This obtained women’s archive takes all kinds including photos he shot for his customers and photos he kept for himself. The core of this work though is deeper than what the commercial shot he was paid for portrays. Soon this method developed into a key to get access to private spaces and stories, to better understand an intimate side of Russian women.


_MG_0072


“Personal and sensuous portraits of Russian women taken to cover up for the side expenses, for me is an unforgettable reflection that allures into Andy Rocchelli’s archive, who left us quite early.” – Manik Katyal

Photography feature – Andy Rocchelli‘s ‘Russian Interiors’ was selected as one of the ‘Most Interesting Photobook of 2014‘ by Manik Katyal.

Related Posts

Tiane Doan na Champassak: Dick 999

India –    THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT Dick 999 published by RVB Books is a collection of anonymous photographs ...

Lieko Shiga: Rasen Kaigan

 Japan – In 2008, Lieko Shiga announced herself on the Japanese photography scene. That year, she published two books (“CANARY,” ...

PhotoEspaña 13 : Body. Eros and Politics.

Spain –  PhotoEspaña, one of the most important photography festivals in Europe, which has its epicentre in Madrid (exhibitions also ...

The Plight of the Pathans – Hossein Fatemi

Afghanistan – Afghanistan used to be a peaceful country, popular with hippies coming from Europe and South East Asia. But ...

JH Engström: “I’m Far From Done Yet” – On Photography, Instinct and the Freedom of Not Knowing

JH Engström’s photography emerges from the tension between places, memories, energies, and uncertainty. Moving between rural Värmland and Paris, he ...

Juan Cristóbal Cobo: “I’m interested in discovering new ways of translating the everyday, in finding poetry in seemingly insignificant moments, and in allowing photography to surprise me again”

Colombian photographer Juan Cristóbal Cobo speaks about finding poetry in everyday life, transforming seemingly insignificant moments into powerful visual stories. ...

What Remains – Sarker Protick

Bangladesh –  It was in the afternoon, I was sitting on my grandpa’s couch. The door was slightly open and ...

Rena Effendi: Liquid Land

Azerbaijan –  “Liquid Land is co-authored with my father Rustam Effendi, a dissident scientist and entomologist who devoted his life ...

Robin Hammond : Condemned

New Zealand – Condemned: Mental Health in African Countries in Crisis by Robin Hammond presents a profound body of work ...

Hans Gremmen: ‘Peeling off the layers’- Understanding the link between Photobooks and Design

Netherlands –  Hans Gremmen is a talented designer based in Amsterdam known for his innovative work with photo books. Regularly ...

Robin Maddock III

England –                                      ...

Marta Berens: “Dream Chapter” – Magical Illusion of a Photographer’s Reality

Poland –  Dream chapter is a part of my “Fairytale” story. “It is out of reality that the most peculiar ...