A bear's skin is crucified on a house. It is the skin of the insomniac bear that came at night and ate the dogs, attacked people, and got into the house through the window. A married couple climbed the roof in panic and waited until the morning to neutralize the beast. They waited until morning because it is pitch-dark at night. There is only electricity in this settlement for 14 hours a day, in the morning and the evening. There is no central power supply service, only a small diesel-driven station. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016 – © Elena Anosova

Elena Anosova

Out of the Way

[ EPF 2017 – FINALIST ]

The project was created on the far away territories of the Extreme North of Russia, where bad accessibility and isolation, special relationship with nature, and following the century-long ways of life involve unique mythology of the region where the fictional things are very often more important than modern reality. These lands are immersed into the flow of their own life activity, where the past and the present surprisingly interlace. My ancestors were hereditary hunters in a small settlement near Nizhnyaya Tunguska River. Almost 300 years ago they came to colonize Siberia, then assimilated into the Evenkis and founded a village in taiga. They lived in an old house as a large family with more than 15 children. 

 

Local hunter washes his face with snow. To sustain good physical form and health (that is essential for a hunter) locals workout and ski. Rubbing snow on face and body is very comon, especually after workouts and banya (Russian sauna). Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016
Children run around with sweets inside the house during New Year holiday season. Lip of the moose is a traditional New Year meal and delicacy. Defrosting meat straight on the table is very typical here. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2015 – © Elena Anosova
The elk horns decorated with a Christmas garland. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
Five-year-old Irina poses on the old parka – hunting coat. As with many families in the village, she is a mixture of cultures and ethnicities: her mother is Tungus, and her father is Russian. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
Dogs live outside the houses in dog kennels all year around. Locals crossbreed dogs with best hunting qualities and keep genealogical track of each animal. There is a waiting list to get one of such dogs. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016 – © Elena Anosova
The average temperature in the territories of the Extreme North of Russia is about -45 degrees celsius. For a few weeks each year it can be as low as -55. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016
View from the helicopter that connects Kirensk (the nearest city) and 3 settlements in the taiga. From spring to fall this is the only connection and way of transportation. It operates twice a month. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016
Valentina (34), mother of four is holding her daughter. Varvara who is 10 months old is playing with fox skin. The family is interethnic: mother is Russian and father is half Tungus. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016
Pregnant mare found in the field outside the settlement. Horses in the settlement are semi-feral. They return or get taken back into the settlement during mid spring and fall. Sometimes in March when Mares are due to foal, temperatures can still drop up to -40C, so locals chase them down on snowmobiles and bring them back to the settlement. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016
The hunter looks at a glacier at the beginning of June. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
The boat is transported for fishing on the forest lake. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017

 

Nowadays the population of the village is 100 adults, and all of them are distant relatives: those who are not brothers, are related in a neighbourly way. Life of this part of my family, my father’s siblings and numerous cousins and nephews, has not changed for centuries in that remote area surrounded with pristine wilderness. Modern civilization penetrates slowly and fragmentarily in there, it is intricately woven into the local way of life. The closest town is 300 km away, and the transport connection functions only in winter time. Local and family legends and traditions are still mighty in the settlement.

 

Valeriy, 60. (He is my uncle, my father’s younger brother) . He is the head of our family in the settlement. There were about 20 family members living there, but recently more and more people leave. He is a hunter in the 5th generation. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
This is winter cabin (Hunter’s house / Hunting lodge) called “Voron” it means The Raven. Cabin is located 80 km down the river from the settlement. Family memebres and friends stay in the cabin during it. The cabin is also used to proess the fish catch during the fishing season.
Spring view from the window cabin (Hunter’s house / Hunting lodge). Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
Korchags: special devices for storage of live fish. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
This is Nikita, he is 14 years old. He sorts networks after fishing in a break between preparation for final examinations at school. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
Crucian and the summer kitchen in the old house of the grandmother Marusya. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
The young woman in the yard of the house. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
The place for reflections in the wood. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
Inside the winter cabin (Hunter’s house / Hunting lodge). Cabin is located 45 km up the river from the settlement. It has belonged to our family for more than 80 years. The cabins are often located at the confluence of rivers. The cabin is named “Unokta” that is the name of a small river in the area. The tale of the wood grouse is hanging above the bed – the hunting season for wood grouse and ducks is in spring and autum. Family memebres and friends stay in the cabin during it. The cabin is also used to proess the fish catch during the fishing season. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2017
Almost 300 years ago, people came to colonize Siberia, then assimilated into the Evenkis (little nation) and founded a village in the taiga [the snow forest]. Sreenshot of the installation”Salt Tea”. 2016
Tracks of snowmobile on the winter road (road constructed of snow, ice and frozen ground). There are barely any cars in the area due to the absence of roads. Locals use mostly Russian snowmobiles «Buran» as they are cheap in service and spare parts and can operate on low quality fuel. Snow level reaches up to 1,5 meters. People also use horses and skis for transportation. Katangsky District, Irkutsky region. Russia, 2016

 

Short Bio

Originally hailing from the picturesque region of Baikal, artist Elena Anosova (born in 1983) is currently based in Moscow and Irkutsk. Anosovass work is centered around lives in closed institutions, isolation, social stigmatization. The impulse of research of such communities arose in a reflection of her teenage period spent at the closed rehabilitation boarding school. She would like to takes a closer look at the dynamic interplay of processes of isolation and surveillance, at unique qualities of emotional and social relationships within restrictions of artificially insulated societies. Also Elena Anosova works with subjects of borders, identity and collective memory in the territory of Siberia, Extreme North and Russian Far East.

 

Related Links

 

anosova.com

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The Emerging Photographer Fund is supported by generous donors to the Magnum Foundation

Magnum Foundation

5 thoughts on “Elena Anosova – Out of the Way”

  2. Frostfrog

    I do love these pictures. They evoke so much about the place and the people who live in it. Much about it looks familiar. Excellent, Elena. Congratulations.

    Given the fine nature of the photographic work, I hate to be pedantic, but a place with Taiga forest is not going to have an average temperature of -45 C. If it did, there would be no forest at all. Although I do know Russia has recorded far and away the coldest temperature in the northern hemisphere (-89.2 C), I still could not believe anyplace in Russia has an average of -45 C, so I did a little googling and from what I came up with there are regions in Northeast Russia where the coldest month of the year averages -38 c. From my limited research, this appears to be coldest average for any month anywhere in Russia. And those are moose antlers, not elk.

    Again, I hate to be pedantic, but when photographers are presenting documentary work, it is important to be as factually accurate as you can. I suspect the moose antler error was an error in translation, as I am certain Elena knows her moose.

  5. hharry

    The Eurasian elk (Alces alces) moose (Alces americanus)

    American Elk is pretty much a European red deer.

    Photos get better the more I look at them.

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