Innholdsfortegnelse for #4 2025 i Artdoc Photography Magazine

“We explore photography as a bridge across borders, cultures, and lived experiences. - The Artdoc Team In this issue of Artdoc Magazine, we explore photography as a bridge across borders, cultures, and lived experiences. The stories gathered here invite us to witness both beauty and struggle: images of migrating families, intimacy and loss, communities reclaiming identity, and the challenges of climate change. These photographs do more than document—they connect us, urging reflection on the threads that bind humanity in a fractured world. Through art and critical storytelling, Global Connection offers not only perspectives on urgent social issues but also glimpses of resilience, dignity, and shared hope. We invite readers to explore our cover story of the American photographer Nick Brandt, who has added a new chapter, The Echo of Our Voices,…

In 2022, Villeda began Tu pueblo sabe, a project set in Todos Santos Cuchumatán, a Maya Mam community high in the Cuchumatanes mountains. The project explores how family stories, affections, and memory migrate alongside—or in place of—people. While migration stories often follow a journey outward, this one remains firmly in place. Here, the traces of departure are everywhere: boys in crisp baseball caps and sneakers with American logos; the local cemetery with graves decorated in stripes and stars; houses with bright façades bearing the quiet imprint of relatives working far away, in hopes of finding better opportunities. “The people of Todos Santos show great versatility in taking symbols and iconography from the United States, reinterpreting and using them in this new context as a narrative tool to tell their own…

“The Prisoners series explores the feeling of being trapped—not always by walls, but by everyday life, personal doubts, and invisible boundaries. The photographs use mirrors, pillows, soft fabrics, and pastel colours to create a quiet, surreal atmosphere in which ordinary objects become symbols of limitation. The people in these images appear suspended between reality and illusion. Their bodies are hidden, fragmented, or distorted, reflecting how we sometimes lose ourselves in routines, roles, or expectations. The soft tones contrast with the deeper, slightly absurd, and ironic message about inner isolation. About Born in 1990 in Shostka, Ukraine, the artist's early fascination with researching and collecting insects continues to influence their work. Their introduction to photography was gradual, beginning with macro images of flowers and landscapes, taken on a small soapbox Canon…

“Tactile Memory is a photographic exploration of what it means to truly inhabit the present—through the body, through the senses, and through our deep-rooted connection to the natural world. In these images, the human figure returns to landscapes far removed from digital noise and urban fragmentation, reawakening to the primal sensations of touch, temperature, and texture: moss beneath bare feet, the warmth of sunlight on skin, wind moving across the body, the cool shock of water. These photographs are more than visual records—they are sensory archives. Each frame captures a moment of embodied stillness and presence, reminding us of the universal language of touch and the intimate knowledge held by the skin, even as memory fades. In a time when many feel increasingly disembodied—lost in screens, in speed, in disconnection—this…

In a world marked by differences and complexity, Crossing Identities brings together photographs that showcase what connects us across borders, cultures, and experiences. The exhibition traces the threads of humanity that go beyond boundaries — visible in gestures of care, resilience, belonging, identity, and shared presence. How do we express connection across distances? Where do we find unity in today's multifaceted world? Through portraits, everyday moments, visual metaphors, and scenes of cultural exchange, the works on display invite us to consider these questions. From documentary to conceptual approaches, from subtle reflections to bold statements, the exhibition Crossing Identities opens a space for images that remind us of our shared ties — with one another, with culture, and with the living world around us. Visit our online exhibition…

“Coming Home is a photographic series that explores the emotional weight of departure and return, of borders crossed and those imposed, and the complex notion of what it means to come home. Through the personal stories of Nepali returnees who migrated to Gulf countries to work as domestic workers, this body of work highlights their struggles, courage, and autonomy, while exploring the significance of home—not as a domestic unit, but as a feeling: one of familiarity, security, and emotional connection. In response to frequent reports of abuse and exploitation in the domestic work sector, the Nepali government has, since 1998, implemented various migration bans and restrictions for women, specifically targeting those travelling to Gulf countries. While framed as protective, these policies challenge women's fundamental right to mobility and fail to…

“Through this project, I attempt to delve into the intricate and interconnected threads of family history, focusing on the lives of three generations. I trace how experiences—both spoken and unspoken—and the collective histories of those who came before me continue to resonate in the present. At its core, this project is about the transmission of inherited traumas: how the struggles, pain, and unvoiced stories of one generation are passed down from grandmother to daughter to granddaughter. This body of work is deeply personal, inspired by my own familial history, and seeks to share a universal story of reconciliation and the transformative power of healing one's wounds. These images call for reflection on trauma, growth, renewal, and hope for the stories not yet written. About Madalena Georgatou is an educator and…

About Xenia Chetrar is a fine art photographer specialising in classic analogue photography. With over five years of experience, she has dedicated her practice to exploring the enduring relevance of photographic film in the digital age. Her work has been featured in a range of personal and collective projects, emphasising the tactile and artistic potential of traditional photographic methods. Beyond her personal practice, she actively advocates for film photography by mentoring emerging photographers and leading an art collective that fosters creative collaboration within the medium. www.xeniachetrar.co.uk…

As a queer person, Lo Calzo felt a resonance with his own experience, which fuelled his interest in how Afro-descendant communities developed strategies of resistance. “How can they produce spaces of self-affirmation, spaces of self-determination against colonialism, against slavery, against oppression? This idea of refuge within or beyond a dominant system was also part of my own experience in a different way. I truly believe that there is a resonance between the ‘queer’ - in the phenomenological sense of the term, as an experience that is disoriented and not aligned with the norm - experience and that of the maroon people: both involve escaping systems of control and oppression, and creating spaces of survival, resistance, and reinvention outside the boundaries of the Norm. The connection is the act of escaping…

Karpushenko is drawn to the subtle interrelationships between human form and landscape, gestures of belonging that are easily forgotten. “I'm fascinated by how we've forgotten our wild origins and become disconnected from our natural home. Through my lens, I capture moments where the human form mirrors natural shapes—a woman's silhouette echoing a rock formation, or bodies moving like flowing water.” These images are not simply aesthetic experiments; for her, they carry a vital message. “These themes matter deeply because I believe our planet's healing depends on remembering we're not separate from nature, but part of it. Each image is my attempt to bridge that forgotten bond and inspire others to see themselves reflected in the natural world around them.” That message is carried not only in what she photographs, but…

“My project emphasises the need for hope in the face of adversity, particularly for victims of domestic violence. Rather than portraying them as mere victims, I aim to highlight their strength, courage, and humanity, inspiring others to turn tragedy into triumph. Drawing from my own healing journey, I infuse art with a message of hope and transcendence. To visually convey this sentiment, I found inspiration in Kintsugi, the Japanese philosophy that embraces imperfections as unique and beautiful. Applying this concept to portraiture, I showcase the beauty and resilience of individuals who have experienced domestic abuse, emphasising their strength and capacity for healing. This project does not seek to glorify domestic abuse or its effects. Instead, it raises awareness while empowering survivors by depicting them as beautiful, strong, and resilient individuals…