Dreams in which Russians live
Frank Herfort grew up in the GDR and was interested in the Soviet Union from childhood. When he first came to this country, it was already called Russia. However, very soon Frank realized that he was not too late.
Since 2006, the German photographer has been living and working between Russia and Germany.
When Herfort takes pictures of Russia, all the heroes of his pictures freeze in anticipation, plunge into a deep enchanted sleep. Only there is an assumption that no prince will find them and they will spend at least eternity in this paralyzed state.
Photographer Frank Herfort was born and raised in Leipzig. A few years ago, he was captured by a maniacal interest in studying the aesthetic aspect of public spaces. At that time , Frank was in Russia, and this mysterious country seemed to the photographer a real paradise for the implementation of his new project Time in Between.
"In Europe, everything is clearly defined: a waiting room is a waiting room, an office is exactly an office. There is no such thing in Russia. Here, any space seems to be layered and completely open to various, sometimes the wildest, interpretations" — this is how Frank Herfort explains why Russia became the birthplace of his photo project.
Sometimes Herfort shot without staging, sometimes he asked people to take a certain pose or move to better integrate them into the space. In his photographs, he skillfully uses a melancholic atmosphere, a too calm environment to fully reveal the theme of isolation and stagnation. The characters in his photographs seem to have been bewitched, and all they can do is sit still and wait for something to give them an awakening. However, the impression is that they will never wake up.
Keywords: City | People | Public space | Dream | Photography