Yura Borschev anbd I were invited to the art residence of Monchegorsk city located on the Kola Peninsul to participate in a creative project entitled “Art-Arctic” as curators.

This cohesive series of photographs originated from the idea that the Urban Exploration photography is not only about documentation but also the way to give new meaning to a particuar geolocation through photography in the context of geography and space. This also applies to the Landscape photography.

From the beginning, this project inspired by neon aesthetics, the Urban Exploration and the light painting technique #aeroglyph by Reuben Wu.

This is also inspired by a common subject such as “Portal” in science fiction. We were planning to draw light lines that were supposed to look like portals, no matter what shape they would be. At that moment, I loved the definition of the term “portal” in science fiction and fantasy that says the portal is a technological or magical opening that connects two distant locations separated by space and time.

Questioning reality through light and color is a way to draw the public's attention to the location. This is also a visual means of communication based on rethinking places and landscapes. Every place captured becomes a subject of discussion among people, a destination for Explorers and also a way to navigate. This increases the value of the image.

In this project, we use a light painting technique with a drone to illustrate fictional light portals connecting the landscapes surrounding the city.