1-20, 1979-89 in Samara
The photobook 1-20, 1979-89 in Samara was created in collaboration with the book designer Lea Pauline Kolling. It is based on my grandfather Stepan Kuznetsov’s photographic archive.
1-20, 1979-89 in Samara, softcover book with sewn binding and linen dust jacket, 27 x 18 cm, 2019.
In 2014, my father told me that my grandfather had left behind a small locked case with photographic films. It contained twenty numbered jars with processed, but uncut transparencies. The photos were taken in the last decade of the Soviet Union – from 1979 to 1989.
For me these films have turned out to be a great discovery, not only because I don’t remember my grandfather but also because until then I had only seen his printed family portraits. Additionally, my family did not know about the uncut transparencies. Nobody can tell me anymore why he took these pictures and leaving the films uncut, he didn’t prepare them for viewing, but carefully preserved them.
