Interview by Anna Robertson

You discussed in your artist statement that Andrew, the father in your series, confessed “Sometimes, I wish I was her mother, not her father.” You wrote he had a complicated relationship with his own father and was in conflict with himself. How do you think our assumed responsibilities on men and women, as well as the toxic masculinity so engrained in our culture, affects fatherhood, especially when you have a girl?

This is a very complicated question. Fatherhood is a subject, that is much less discussed for some reason than motherhood. Being a father in our society is certainly affected by the roles that we assign to men and women, as well as the “toxic masculinity”. There are a lot of psychological traps involved: we assume that the image of the father figure should be one of the provider and projecting strength and masculinity, while a girl—or any child actually—also needs to see the emotional support, the nurturing, the playfulness and so on. I think that Andrew for example, was really trying to combine all those things in his approach to Lucy, but he did struggle a lot at the same time because he was deeply analyzing his responsibility as the role model for his child.

I also believe that the roles assumed by our society on each gender strongly affect the family structures and what men and women feel safe and comfortable doing without being judged. For example, there are many men who would gladly stay home with children and take the role of the so-called “house wife”, while there are many women who would rather concentrate on their careers. I think if our society was less judgmental about the division of such responsibilities and more supportive towards the equality of men’s and women’s right to decide for themselves about the role they would prefer to play in their family, many families would be much happier. Although, in Europe the tendency towards this way of thinking is slowly developing, and now there is even such term as “paternity leave” for the newborn babies.

However, denying gender differences completely seems also as another extreme as men and women are still physically built differently to a certain degree. By nature, only women are capable of growing a child in their body, and also physiologically they are built to form a special bond with the child before he or she is even born. Men’s connection with the child develops at a much later stage. And I think Andrew was talking specifically about that. His wish to be the “mother” was rather a contemplation about the fact that he would never be able to have the physical ability to bare and nurture his child, to create this special bond that only mothers are capable of by nature.

How do you think your photography can help talk about mental health? How would you suggest making discussions about mental health easier?

I think photography is one of the unique mediums that is cable of reflecting something that is lying below the surface of the visible. And this quality, I think, can also be used to talk about mental health. Although my aim as an artist is not so much to talk about mental health as it is to emphasize or reflect certain psychological moments that we all share as humans. I believe that even when an image portrays, for example, a strangers' relationship, there is something that can trigger the subconcious and remind us of our own experiences. According to the Jungian psychoanalytical theories, we all share a kind of “collective knowledge” and “collective memories” which can be accessed through visual language and symbolism, and that is precisely what I am aiming to achieve with my photography.

I would refrain, however, from giving suggestions about discussing mental health, as I think one must be a qualified specialist in psychology to make such comments, and my knowledge in psychology is rather amateur.

In your photographs, you have captured beautiful, intimate moments over this long stretch of time with these two people who are obviously very close. How do you get to be so close to your subjects? What would you recommend to other photographers seeking to work on a long-form project like this?

I think getting close to your subjects is something that happens organically, and it is difficult to give a clear formula as to how to achieve it. All my long-term projects that follow the same subjects over a period of time, originated in long personal conversations and visits to the homes of my future subjects. I never search on purpose for my subjects they just come into my life somehow. But I think that the most important thing is to be open to other people’s worlds and to try to connect to their mentality. I recommend to work in a long-term format only when the subject that one photographs is deeply touching or exciting to the photographer. As long as there is this fire of inspiration, images come naturally and the connection will also happen. That is also the reason why I always stop working on the project when this “fire” is not there anymore, otherwise the images would come out forced and insincere.

Morning Revelation © Viktoria Sorochinski

WCW Questionnaire:

Describe your creative process in one word.

Subconscious

If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?

“Professional strategies for artists-photographers” – where I would teach about how to present yourself and your work to the professionals in the field. Although, one hour is probably too short for this topic..:) But I feel that this is something that many artists struggle with the most, and I was also terrified of it when I began my journey as a professional artist. I learnt a lot over the years on this topic and I am still learning! I think that if there would be such class when I was a student, it would save me a lot of time and effort.

What was the last book you read or film you saw that inspired you?

I recently discovered this beautiful film titled: Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, directed by Steven Shainberg and written by Erin Cressida Wilson. I found it to be very inspiring. and resonating with me on many different levels. This film is not so new, from 2008, but I saw it first time only recently.

What is the most played song in your music library?

This a difficult question for me, because I’m not one of those people who listens constantly to music. Although, of course, I do love music, and I even write my own songs and play guitar. But in general, I like very different genres of music, and depending on my mood at a certain time my preferences change. I guess, one of my all-time favorites would be “Space Oddity” by David Bowie, but there are many other songs and authors that I equally like to listen to.

How do you take your coffee?

Black with a little sugar