Slava Mogutin_Marko Shiva
Slava Mogutin is a New York based Russian artist and author, exiled from Russia for his outspoken writings and activism. And it’s this rich bicultural literary and dissident background that informs his work. Mogutin’s diverse themes range from displacement and identity, transgression and disfiguration of masculinity and gender crossover, and urban youth subcultures.
For over a decade Mogutin has been known for a photographic body of work that ranges from highly stylized, iconographic images to portraits of rare boldness and honesty. Lushly colored images test connections between the descriptive clarity of photography and the haze of memory. Layered shots of people and nature come together and seem to blend into or grow out of nature itself.
Throughout the exploration of the formal aspects of his work, Mogutin continues to look for other ways to use the camera as a voyeuristic tool. He explores the character and emotion of his subjects and simultaneously exposes their insecurities and vulnerabilities. The pictures’ success lies in the fact that Mogutin continues to tell stories of real people and real experiences, and that, throughout his work, he remains a true poet.<3
”I’ve always enjoyed breaking taboos and stereotypes.I think that’s what real art is about, and I’ve paid my dues for expressing myself in the most radical and honest way.” www.slavamogutin.com