Sergey Bratkov / Сергій Братков
Glue sniffers, 2001
Photography
, 7 x (90 x 90 cm)
photo on aluminium
The series Glue Sniffers consists of pictures of glue-sniffing youths. The pictures are taken in a closed correctional facility for underage delinquents, on a sun-flooded courtyard with grapevines. Bratkov took double-takes using a 6x6 camera, which resulted in blurry, unclear pictures, much like the vision of a drugged individual. The series can also be interpreted as a reflection on the Soviet rhetoric of the 'Happy Soviet Childhood'.