Back

Documentary

Elena Khovanskaya

Photographer

Elena Khovanskaya

Daughter and father

At the beginning of the 20th century, the statement about the benefits of sports practices and training for women was a cause of controversy and resistance. Today, despite the popularization of martial arts among women, in the modern world there is still a common stereotype that "Women and combat sports are incompatible." Sambo, boxing, karate are for men. Women should keep being women, so there are more "appropriate" sports for them.
"Daughter and father" is a portrait series of young athletes involved in various martial arts and combat sports. Participants of the project are not selected due to the same age group and sports achievements. What unites them is that they all train under their fathers. The project was created in sports facilities where fathers and daughters train. Each family is a unique world of the relationship between a coach and an athlete, mutual understanding and trust between daughter and father.

Elena Khovanskaya

Elena Khovanskaya is a documentary photographer from St. Petersburg, Russia. Elena has studied scenography at St. Petersburg’s Theatre Academy and worked several years at various places in Russia, Poland as well as Germany. In 2016-2018, she received training at the School of Modern Photography  “Docdocdoc”  on the programme of “Documentary Photography and Photojournalism”. Publications in Lenta.ru, Russia beyond the headlines, Humanistischer Pressedienst (hpd), Bird In Flight. Vestnik Evropy, The calvert journal, Zapovednik, Russian Life Magazine, REGNUM,Stern. Elena  lives and works in Berlin, Germany.