Julia Borissova: The Farther Shore

Julia Borissova was born in Tallinn, Estonia. She lives in St.Petersburg, Russia where she studied at the Academy of Photographic skills in 2009-2010. She graduated from Foundation of information and cultural projects "FotoDepartament", program "Photography as a research", 2011-2013.

Russia –

The book “The Farther Shore” is about how the history of the past and present endowed with memory intertwines in today’s space.

The pictures for this book were taken in Russia on the Volga River where in the 1930’s a hydrosystem was built. The area of about 4600 sq.km was flooded and as a result 800 villages and towns, 3 cities, 5 monasteries, hundreds of churches and old cemeteries went under water. One of the main issues which became starting point for the creation of this book is why during the evacuation of flooded land some people preferred to stay in their homes and die but not to leave their native places?

I was interested in what is left unsaid and unseen. I wanted to show and to give an opportunity to feel that these people and places are our history and that one day this story could disappear forever.

The book “The Farther Shore” was selected for the shortlist of the 50 books in the International Photobook Festival 2013 in Kassel, Germany.