From Berlin with Love Again
Let's All Share The Love ♥
The story of
Viktoria Sorochinski
“Viktoria’s Sorochinski dream-like lockdown project reconnects with her inner self”
Izabela Radwanska Zhang, British Journal of Photography
As the lock down ends almost everywhere, we are going back where we started, in Berlin, where Viktoria Sorchinski lives and works.
During her confinement Viktoria felt inspired to create a new series of self portraits titled INsideOutside. The photos are breathtaking and instantly won well deserved applause from the Leica Blog and the highly respected British Journal of Photography.
Boat party to protest Berlin lockdown
Post Corona Life
Friends, sunshine, no more social distancing
As Berlin starts reopening, how are things there, Viktoria?
Right now, Berlin seems to be nearly back to “normal” life. Everyone is enjoying the warm and sunny weather, picnicking in parks, playing music, walking, laughing and hanging out with friends in cafes. City looks almost as crowded as it used to be before the COVID-19 crisis has hit. The only obvious reminder of the pandemic is the fact that people are wearing masks in public places like shops and transportation, and the masks themselves are now becoming a trendy fashion accessory sold in various boutiques in all shapes and colors.
How did the confinement affect your everyday life and your art practice?
I think the lockdown experience turned out to be a rather positive one for me personally. It allowed me to focus on things that I didn’t have time to do previously. With more space and time to reflect on the internal processes, I felt very inspired and creative during this time. I was finally able to begin a project that I had been thinking about for a long while.
Your new quarantine inspired series INsideOUTside won the honor of the British Journal of Photography and the Leica Blog. Can you tell us more about it?
The INsideOUTside series was inspired greatly by the lockdown situation, but it is also in some way an extension of my old self-portrait project The Space Between, where I am exploring my identity through dreams and childhood memories and the longing to reconnect with nature. I’ve been thinking about revisiting these subjects for a few years, but something always seemed to be out of place for this kind of work. When the Covid-19 lockdown begun, suddenly I felt that this is the perfect time for it, perhaps because this work really requires focusing on the internal state of mind, which can be difficult while living in the normal rhythm of the busy city life.
INsideOUTside series doesn’t have one single narrative behind the images. Each image is a symbolic reflection of my internal state of mind based on my dreams, memories and experiences that I am living through every day since the beginning of the lockdown. My goal is to allow the viewers to connect to my photographs on the subconscious level and imagine their own stories based on the universal symbols that I am using. My work process in this series is very intuitive, which is greatly supported by the opportunity to use the wonderful Leica Q2 camera, that was generously lent to me for this period by the LFI (Leica Foto International) and the LEICA CAMERA AG. Unlike other cameras that I am used to work with, this camera is very compact and lightweight but at the same time has a very powerful sensor. I can always carry it with me, which allows me to “live in the moment” in my creative process. Even though the lockdown seems to have come to an end in Berlin, I am planning to continue this project for a while, and perhaps it will grow eventually into something bigger.
Tragic events occurred in America in the recent days with the killing by the police of George Floyd and many others in the past weeks, months and years. Black Lives Matter. Changes are needed to eradicate the implicit and inherent racism that is highlighted by these crimes. Until June 30th, Uncommon Beauty will donate 25% of all sales proceeds of Viktoria’s art to Color Of Change, an organization fighting for racial justice in the USA.
“We hope you enjoyed hearing from our artists from all around the world. Please stay safe and well as the world slowly reopens with the hope of some needed changes for more respect and equality.”