Hoffman, Anna

Most people do fine art photography to escape from reality and create the illusion of a beautiful world. I am no exception. Since childhood I had a special sharpened vision, heightened sensitivity and emotionality. I chose photography as the only sure way to help me express all the things that my eyes wanted to say. I grew up in one of the most beautiful cities on Earth, in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. It filled me with magical architecture, visual art, classical music and … rules. The rules of conduct, good manners, my family’s strict morality, the Christian commandments. Now I’m taking photos to break all these rules. To fight, to stop being “nice” to others. My art education allows me to move freely within the art historical eras. Often I apply this knowledge into the frame to comprehense deeper the idea of shooting or to include the additional meanings and symbols into scenario . Over the years, taking more and more photos, I realized the fact that people wishing to experience and to act like I do – they want to crush their internal moral bounds and dogmas. The slogan I use when describing my photo, “the theatre of photography”, originates exactly there. We perform theatrical productions, stories to help each other to break free. To remove the skin, to become real. I work a lot with the subject of human shame – shame for own imperfect body, for actions, revolutionary ideas – and violence – moral, emotional, aesthetic.