“Why Was I Born in Russia” was selected for inclusion in “DIY: Photographers & Books” exhibition curated by Barbara Tannenbaum, Curator of Photography at The Cleveland Museum of Art (August 11 - December 30, 2012).
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With “Why was I born in Russia” photographer Yury Toroptsov invites viewers to follow him on a trip to his native region of Vladivostok in the Far Eastern Russia. The book contains three sections: myth, reality and fiction and features the following photo series (1) Grodekovo (2) The House of Baba Yaga (3) Dora.
Born in 1974 in a small rural community near Vladivostok, Yury Toroptsov left his native Russia to study at the New School for Social Research in New York after having won a prestigious scholarship. Nourished by his Far-Eastern origins, American travels and the current residence in Europe, Yury Toroptsov keeps at the core of his work what constitutes a common denominator for those distant cultures: people and their identity and the permanence of myths. Memories, metamorphosis, profane and sacred are the recurring themes in his photographs. Lives and works in Paris.