Neither
“The view of this faded garden explodes my mind and I get paralyzed, I have no clue how to move two legs, let alone a thousand.” - Natasha
Neither is an exploration into the hearts of young women in Kaliningrad. The first generation to have grown up after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they look to define their identity in this small island within Europe. The women I have been living with and sharing with have generously opened up their homes and their minds to allow me to better understand this link between place, identity and history.
The region has had a short but complex history only becoming Russian after WWII and with the collapse of the Soviet Union it was severed from mainland Russia. This has left Kaliningrad in a fragile position but this fragility is countered by the strong, independent women that have guided me through the stories of this region and the lives of the individual telling me of their dreams and fears. Caught between their strong Russian roots and the new Europe these women search out their place amidst these two worlds.
Kate Nolan is an Irish visual artist based in Dublin, Ireland. She graduated with a BA (Hons) in Documentary Photography from the University of Wales, Newport, 2010. Her practice involves working closely with her subjects over time and then illustrating their circumstances through images and text. Kate combines her art practice with running photographic events, workshops and is the director of Slideluck Potshow Dublin.
Her on-going project Neither was recently selected for the Emergentes Award Braga and exhibited in the PhotoIreland Festival. It has also been exhibited in London, Cardiff, Minneapolis and Kailiningrad, Russia. This work has been reviewed in several international magazines and a selection was chosen to be included in the book 'Context and Narrative in Photography' by Maria Short.
Her work has also been featured in many online magazines such as Foto8, Contact Editions, GUP and Conscentious. Neither is in the process of being produced into a photobook which will be self-published in 2013.
To view her work please visit: http://www.katenolan.co.uk
All images © Kate Nolan