Ksenia Galiaeva's photographs are not only truthful, but also a game with memories: a dreamy representation of reality.
Ksenia Galiaeva, 1976, Pskov, Russia; lives and works in Antwerp and Amsterdam. For her work, Ksenia uses the umbrella title 'Unreal Estate', which can be interpreted as autobiographical fiction (manipulation and constant rewriting of an autobiographical story), but also has parallels with the construction of (national, fictional) identity.
The photos of Ksenia Galiaeva exude a languid rest. She photographs her immediate surroundings: her mother and father and their dachshund in and around their dacha at the Russian countryside. She herself speaks of 'vanitas still lives, but of people'.
Galiaeva's photographs are reminiscent of holiday photos. But Galiaeva does more because she turns her family members into a myth; an ode to her parents and their way of life. They are the protagonists, accustomed to the camera. Sometimes Galiaeva intervenes. Then she lets the faces of the whole family frame and reflect with mirrors. Her photographs are not only truthful, but also a game with memories: a dreamy representation of reality.
Galiaeva teaches Photography and Fine Art at Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows, amongst others in Schiedam Museum - NL, Fries Museum - NL, Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch - NL, Moscow MOMA - RU, Seoul MMCA Changdong - KR.