Back

Conceptual Series

Sergei Stroitelev

Photographer

Sergei Stroitelev

Bermuda Rectangle (Russian women's bags from the inside)

Women's handbags have always been a mystery to me. As a kid, I was convinced that my mom had to carry around all sorts of magical items, plus a couple of bricks in case she needed to save the world.

As a grown man, I can't say I find purses any less puzzling. So, driven purely by curiosity, I decided to ask some women I know, as well as a few strangers I bumped to on the street, to let me photograph the contents of their bags.

I spent the couple of months wandering around my home town St. Petersburg, asking every woman I met to "show me what's in your bag." Some thought I was a mugger, some thought I was insane, and some complied. I also asked these women to let me snap their ID photos. I feel that the combination of each portrait and the subject's personal items gives a striking first impression of who these Russian women are.

Sergei Stroitelev

I am a Russian freelance photographer and artist based in Germany. My photographic practice primarily focuses on the exploration of the issues of modern society. With the help of different visual languages and forms I look at the problems of identity of minorities, prejudice on the basis of race, religion, gender and sexual orientation, consequences of the conflicts and natural disasters. I often execute very personal photographic projects exploring my very own inner demons, past and family. I am the awardee of the number of international contests such as: NPPA Best of Photojournalism, Bartur Photo Awards, Pictures of the Year International, Pictures of the Year Asia, Istanbul Photo Awards, Luis Valtuena Humanitarian Photography Award and many more. I left Russia on the 4th of March 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine. I was working with non-state controlled media so it was unsafe for me to stay in the country due to the war censorship. I am currently based in Berlin, Germany.