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An Instant of Heritage SERGEY SHCHEKOTOV-
An Instant of Heritage 2021
“An Instant of Heritage 2021” shows author’s photographs of cultural heritage objects of three countries: Russia, Italy and the United States. Aa a documentary photographer from St.Petersburg, Sergei ShchekotovAleksandrov, and his camera visited the Russian cities of Murom and Veliky Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Peterhof photographing monuments and other examples of cultural heritage. SERGEY SHCHEKOTOV-ALEXANDROV
Making photos has numerous functions in our lives. One of them is the photographic documentation of cultural heritage objects and landmarks. Taking photos of UNESCO World Heritage sites and their monuments is a particularly significant part of this area of practice.
Biography
Sergey Shchekotov-Aleksandrov is an independent documentary photographer born in 1960 in Yekaterinburg. He has been living in St.Petersburg since 2014. He graduated from the Ural State University (Journalism Department) in 1989. Sergey specializes in photography of non-material and material culture, nature and everyday life, urban landscapes, museum institutions. I am a member of the Union of Journalists of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, a member of the Creative Union “Photo Art” (Moscow),which has a blog “What do we know about Worldpressphoto”, the channel “Kilometres of photographic roads” on “Yandex. Zen.” Sergey is an author and curator of various traveling photo exhibitions and documentary photography events held in different years in some regions of Russia (Sverdlovsk region, Nizhny Novgorod region, Vladimir region and others). Among them: “Photokaleidoscope: 150 Years of Photography”, “Simple and Complex Impressions”, “Photo studio Free Theme Plus Nature”, “Silent Moscow”, “India. Light and Stone”, “White Colour”, “Open Air Museum – the City of St. Petersburg”, “Cultural Monuments and Museums” and others. Photographer’s website: shchekotovphoto.ucoz.net. The series of photo events “INSTANCES OF HERITAGE” is a program of photos to popularize outstanding cultural heritage objects and UNESCO objects in Russia and in different countries, which involved my participation as a documentary photographer in the work in the “St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.” The photography program is held regularly, once every 1-2 years, and moves from one district of St. Petersburg to another. Usually photo events (photography evenings, photo exhibitions) are held in libraries. The program is being created with the participation of the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Section; since 2015, 5 events have taken place: in the Gatchina district of the Leningrad region in the town of Gatchina (2016), in the Petrodvortsovy district in the town of Lomonosov (2017), in the Kurortny district in the town of Zelenogorsk (2018), in the Krasnoselsky district (2019), in Vasileostrovsky district (2020). In November 2021, the new photo exhibition “An Instance of Heritage” was created in the Central District of St. Petersburg for the new St.Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The photo exhibition consists of two sections: “Russian monuments of history and cultural heritage” (3 photo stories) and “Foreign monuments of history and cultural heritage” (2 photo stories). Photographs from Russia are included in this feature.
Murom Water Tower in Vladimir Region - Russia, 2019.
Geometry of the Ancient City: Murom. 2019
Murom is an ancient Russian city in the Vladimir region, founded in 862 A.D. The population of the city is just over 100 thousand people. Murom is located on the left bank of the Oka river. The first mention of Murom can be found in the “Tale of Bygone Years”. It was one of the cities under the rule of Prince Rurik. Despite its checkered past and long existence, the city has managed to preserve the appearance of a real Russian town in keeping with the best traditions. This is evidenced by many temples and monasteries, monuments and sights. The famous hero of epics, the warrior Ilya Muromets, who was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church, was born in Murom. In 2008, on the day of the 1146th anniversary of Murom, the water tower regained its original meaning: water flowed from its taps. But the water comes not from the Oka river, but from an artesian well. An iron removal station has been installed in the tower, and the residents of Murom note that this water is soft, pure, and you can drink it without boiling.
This is the hall of culture named after the 1100th anniversary of the city of Murom. 2019
Impressions of St.Petersburg. In the State Museum-Reserve “Peterhof. 2014
The State Museum-Reserve “Peterhof” includes the sights of the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. I walked with my camera along the territory of the palace and park ensemble, which is located between the Grand Peterhof Palace and the coast of the Gulf of Finland. This area and buildings are associated with the founder of St.Petersburg, Peter the Great, and are a UNESCO site together with the historical center of St.Petersburg and the related group of monuments.
View of the Grand Peterhof Palace. 2014 (see information on page 27)
A fragment of an open air photo exhibition about the restoration of Peterhof after the Nazi invasion during the Great Patriotic War. 2014
The village of Verbovskiy. A photograph of birdhouses near the school. “Blackbirds, fly to us! We will build you beautiful palaces.”
The ideological center of the Grand Cascade is the sculptural group “Samson Breaking the Lion’s Jaws”,
This monument commemorates the great Russian victories. It was installed in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, the decisive battle of the Northern War. On June 27, 1709, on the feast day of St.Sampson the Hospitable, who was considered the patron saint of the Russian army, the Swedish army was defeated. 2014
Personal directions and reflection
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about the future of my photographic projects. Firstly, I intend to continue to publish the photo exhibitions “An Instance of Heritage 2021”. And again to show you new photographs related to cultural heritage. Secondly, I intend to publish my own photobooks, not only electronic books, but also printed editions on a specific topic. In 2021, I published a printed book “Photographing Cultural Heritage”, in which I talked about the photography events and monuments in St.Petersburg in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. My book from which these photographs are excerpts is already on sale, and you can buy it both on my website http://shchekotovphoto.ucoz.net/index/internet_magazin/0–219, and in partner stores. Thirdly, I would like to continue to publish new e-books in the future, in order to popularize the issues of preserving cultural heritage with the help of Heritage Photography and other publications.
St.Petersburg International Forum.
Also, I would like to say some words about the St.Petersburg International Forum. First, how does this forum work? St.Petersburg International Cultural Forum is a relatively young public event. It has been held since 2012. Similar cultural forums are held in other regions of Russia. There is, for example, the Moscow Cultural Forum, the Ural Cultural Forum, etc. At such events, a variety of figures from the sphere of culture of Russia and cultural figures from different foreign countries meet and communicate. The St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum is the largest cultural event in Russia. Today, it is visited annually by about 30 thousand registered participants. About 100 countries send their representatives to the forum. There are a lot of regional delegations. The forum has an internal structure: 14 sections, 3 tracks, a business site, Lecture Hall 2.0, a site for guest countries, a festival site, contests for art patrons and cultural workers. And a number of other programs. I hold my photo events of the cycle “Instances of Heritage” as a part of the work of one of the sections “Preservation of Cultural Heritage”.
Fountain alley. The Grand Peterhof Palace, the facade stretches along the terrace for almost 300 meters, occupying a dominant position in the composition of the Peterhof grounds. It ties the Upper Garden and the Lower Park together into a single stylistic harmony.
Fountain alley. The Grand Peterhof Palace, the facade stretches along the terrace for almost 300 meters, occupying a dominant position in the composition of the Peterhof grounds. It ties the Upper Garden and the Lower Park together into a single
Dance “Khorovod” during the festival “Cucumber Day in Suzdal.”
Celebration of traditional festivals
Photo story from the collection “White Colour”
White Colour is a collection of different photo stories in my archive related to ancient Russian monuments. First of all, this is the story of the White-stone monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal (UNESCO heritage site). The Vladmir-Suzdal principality was a capital of the country for some time. Another series of photographs are of the monuments related to the history of the Hanseatic trade route. The key role in this trade route is associated with the ancient Russian city of Veliky Novgorod.
Entertainment during the “Cucumber Day in Suzdal” festival
Marly a small palace in the western part of the Lower Park of the palace and park grounds.
The merchants’ rows near the Volkhov River in Veliky Novgorod which are related to the history of the Hanseatic trade route.
