Resident Tourist: Photographs by British Photographer, Henrietta Challinor
Text by Peter Hainsworth
The exhibition is an intriguing and eclectic collection of impressions of Moscow. The color traditionals of churches and the like avoid the “holiday snap” quality with their rich colors and well-balanced views; quirky angles show good use of original space as well as irony and humour. Henrietta’s black & white photographs show sa brave approach to the medium, and encourage the viewer to look deeper into her pictures.
Henrietta has been living in Moscow with her husband and two young sons for two years and “looking at life through a lens for the last five”. She says that coming from a quiet Oxfordshire (UK) village to live in Moscow couldn’t have been a more acute change of circumstances and that in the beginning she felt “overwhelmed, and frankly, terrified”.
She was sitting in Moscow traffic when she originally got the inspiration for Resident Tourist. “At first I was just staring out of the window, in a total state of shock! Slowly I started to look properly, and began to enjoy what I saw: the buildings, the people, the language, the cultural diversity. My eyes were opened and everything around me started to take on its own life. There isn’t anything ordinary or straightforward about Moscow and at times it might be fair to say it can appear depressing and ugly. Yet, on every corner there is something to surprise, delight, appeal, make one laugh, or cry – even mundane everyday sights have become visually appealing – for me that is its charm.”
“I think Moscow is a city of enormous diversity – and from that comes a wealth of inspiration. Every day there is something I want to photograph. I genuinely feel Moscow has awakened in me a new thread of creativity that I didn’t know existed and in doing so it has renewed and enthused my passion for photography.”
About the exhibition, Henrietta says: “Moscow seems to me to be continually evolving and changing, especially through the extremes of the seasons, and I think my pictures tend to reflect those different moods. It is a wonderful opportunity for me to show my photographs at NB Gallery and I am very excited. I hope that people will enjoy looking at the city they live in through the broad canvass of my pictures.”
Natalia Bykova, owner of NB Gallery says: “I am extremely excited to have Henrietta’s photographs exhibited at the gallery. To be honest, I was a bit sceptical when she invited me to view them at her studio – Moscow is an obvious city to photograph and many people do! But Henrietta’s photographs are different: she has a remarkable talent for seeing and capturing the nuances of the city, things
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October 30 – November 10
NB Gallery
6/2 Sivtsev Vrazhek, Entrance 1, Suite 2
(495) 697-4006
Hours: Tue-Sat, 11:00-19:00;
Sun, 12:00- 18:00; Mon – closed
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one sees daily and just passes by. She makes you stop and wonder about colors, shapes and the subtle tones and shades that compose Moscow. Henrietta has an amazing eye and that is exactly what the exhibit is all about.”
Resident Tourist opens on October 30 and runs to November 10. The gallery will also be showing a limited number of paintings that complement the photographic subjects.
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