In 2012, I was following around and photographing a group of Russian models, at a time, based in Hong Kong. The images from my series capture scenes from their everyday lives.
The “HK Top Models” series studies the effects of cultural displacements on young Russian expatriates in Hong Kong. I am creating a portrait of alienation in modern society, by photographing this relatively small group of post-Perestroika Russian youth. They met working abroad; they speak the same language, and they have experienced all the difficulties of creating a new home and community in a foreign place.
Unlike the other photographic projects that I worked on in the past five years, “HK Top Models” was photographed in a documentary manner, without planning and staging each shot. Things just happened in front of me and were recorded on film.
About the author
Polina Shubkina graduated at the Ural State Academy of Architecture and Arts in Yekaterinburg. She moved to Paris where she obtained a BA in Fashion Design from ESMOD and worked as a freelance fashion stylist. After she moved to Hong Kong where she applied at MFA program at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She is now based in Prague.
