The Home in My Mind’s Eye
Gueorgui Pinkhassov on the memories that make up his ‘virtual’ home
Magnum Home is a project that saw a large cross section of Magnum photographers, based all over the world, present a portrait of what the concept of ‘Home’ means to them. As the group exhibition continues in Paris, we present Gueorgui Pinkhassov’s work, a meditation on the idea of home in the photographer’s mind.
This is my home. I spent my childhood here. Went to university. My parents lived here. Our relatives came to visit. And our neighbors. This is a place of my childhood and my youth. My paternal home, so to speak.
What comes to mind when you return home? Truth be told, all Magnum photographers, myself included, spend very little time at home. We love traveling. Our eyes are constantly searching for updates. We monitor what is happening in the world. Each of us has a passion for new things, new knowledge.
"My home is virtual as well—it’s in my head"
- Gueorgui Pinkhassov
Here I took my first photos inspired by Tarkovsky. He was a huge in influence on my style. One of his movies, Solaris, made a strong impression on me. It’s a story of homecoming. Something I’m doing right now. Coming home. Just like the hero, with his hopes and dreams. Only he could not make it back. He stayed. In this house given to him by the Ocean, a virtual home.
My home is virtual as well—it’s in my head. I remember my parents, friends, relatives. All who came here. And it exists. That’s why I’ve left this apartment untouched. It tells the story of an era. I treat it as a museum, with care, do not change anything, even though I’m its owner. This is my home. My apartment. The crossroads of my memory.
"Figuratively speaking, photography is a preservative. It stops time."
- Gueorgui Pinkhassov
"I belong to the school of realism, despite the fact that my pictures are sometimes very fluid and metaphorical. "
- Gueorgui Pinkhassov
Figuratively speaking, photography is a preservative. It stops time. The way you stop it, the moment you choose, the idea you put into it … Photography documents. I don’t want to use platitudes, but to me it’s first of all the testimony of a moment. I want to freeze the time, to preserve it.
I feel that the next generation will see it differently. I’m interested in real photography. I belong to the school of realism, despite the fact that my pictures are sometimes very fluid and metaphorical. Cartier-Bresson used to turn his photos upside down to see if there was a geometry to them. This is interesting, and geometry is often predominant in my photos. But the aspect of testimony is very important for me.
Home, in association with FUJIFILM, is in Paris until June 19.
For more information and details about events, go here.
