Religious Russia: A Look Through the Camera Lens – Photo Exhibition Opens at SCLJ

The photo exhibition “Religious Russia: A Look Through the Camera Lens” was organized by two photographers who are students of the Russian State University for the Humanities – Elena Demidova, a student at the Educational and Research Center on Religious Studies, and Dmitriy Pantuykhin, a student at the Center for Social Anthropology. The exhibition opened at the Slavic Center for Law & Justice (SCLJ) and is being held under the auspices of the SCLJ and the Russian State University for the Humanities.
 
These two local photographers captured images of their religious life against the backdrop of both Orthodox sanctuaries and indigenous pagan traditions, both of which come alive in the photographs they have taken at locations all over Russia. Most notably, this exhibition features photos that were taken on the Solovetskiye Islands, as well as in Kareliya, the Komi Republic, and the Perm Region.
 
A unique element of this exhibition is the photographers’ artistic approach--combining their personal impressions of the lives, habits and practices they have had the opportunity to observe—which enables viewers to also appreciate these moments through their photos.
 
“Despite the rather limited territory covered and inclement weather (even during the summer), we felt a kind of peace and freedom that was unlike anything we had ever felt before as urbanites, a feeling that seemed to have almost entirely been lost to us,” commented Elena Demidova on her blog on the popular site ‘LiveJournal’. “We could touch the old monastery walls and literally feel the stillness of time. Each stone felt as if it has been keeping a record of every single prayer spoken here throughout its centuries of seclusion and solitude.”In addition, the SCLJ is currently hosting another photo essay, entitled “India: the Land of Gods.” This event entails a collaborative initiative by Elena Demidova, Natalya Galkina, Dinara Mardanova, Katerina Kudryavtseva, Ekaterina Valetova and Andrey Vinogradov.