Ilia Yefimovich is a Moscow born documentary photographer and co-founder of “The Archive” Magazine.
His work researches the human conflict and its obsession with territory. He is building a puzzle which represents the cultural evolution both in Russia and in Israel. As an observer, he finds interest in the changes that society goes through, both in times of struggle and in everyday life.
“My work stretches between Russia and Israel, as two places I simultaneously live in. In Russia I have memories of my childhood, while Israel provides me with the prominent ability to see the change, as I sense it on a daily basis. I am attentive to the world around me, searching for bridges that will connect the two parallel worlds in which I live in. While concurrently, I attempt to create those bridges.”
Both the historical and the social paths in Ilia’s work are profoundly important. As an artist who exhibits his work, he finds it important to create a conversation with the viewer.
In his Normandy project, as well as in other projects, he has set the theme of travelling between the two metaphorical realms of the past and the present as his guideline.
World War II has interested Ilia from a very early age. “I see The II world War, as a cultural-historical turning point. This aforementioned connection has led me to photograph the “Sculptural Sanctuary of War” surrounding the sea shore of English Canal.”
For Ilia, the landscape is so powerful that it’s almost impossible to explain in words. His project strives to portray this inability to verbalise those feelings. By removing the image from its historical context and timeline, both the past and the present intertwine; the horrors of the war with the overwhelming beauty of the landscape.
Images courtesy of Ilia Yefimovich
Discover: www.ilia-yefimovich.com
