Sergey Larenkov (Saint Petersberg, Russia January, 1970)

Born in 1970, Sergey now lives and works as a sea pilot in Russia, occasionally working with photography in his free time as a hobby. In 2010, Larenkov was interviewed by the Modern Met following his well received set titled ‘The Ghost of World War II: Paris’ was released, a sequel to the set ‘The Ghost of World War II’s Past’, this series picturing locations in Moscow, Berlin, Prague, and Vienna.Both of these series aim to combine old photographs from Nazi occupied countries during 1940 juxtaposed with the same location in current time. Larenkov is said to be ‘opening a time portal’ by layering these old images using Photoshop, which create a shocking look into the past.

During his interview with the Modern Met, Larenkov was questioned about his process and aims of the series. His answers were focused on the importance of avoiding war repeating due to his personal connection to the blockade of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) as his father and grandfather battled there in the early 1940’s. The photographs used in his work are attained from archives which he then researches the exact location so that he can travel there himself. From this, he combines the two photographs using Photoshop. I find it interesting how Larenkov has chosen to blend both black and white photography with coloured. The technique of this brings attention to the difference in time. This can be useful in showing how much things have changed, however also makes us feel more detached to that time. The photographers aim in these series is to bring awareness to war and the hopes of history never repeating itself, however the black and white feels as though it creates too much of a disconnect.

THE GHOSTS OF WORLD WAR II:

GHOSTS OF WORLD WAR II: PARIS

I chose to look at Sergey Larenkov’s work in more detail in this project as he is connecting the past directly with current time. As my project is using projection to combine old photographs pre covid time with where I currently live, I am inspired by Larenkov’s technique of fading the old with new. I am also interested in his use of space. In a few of his photographs he leaves a lot of blank space amidst the archived war photos – I think this is intentional as to not lose focus on what the image is trying to tell us.