You also have a great gallery called Imperial Pomp, where you traveled all across Russia to
photograph garish post-soviet architecture. Were there any surprises traveling to these far
corners of Russia and if so, is there a particular moment that stands out?
In general I felt very safe and confident travelling through Russia, I speak the language and know
how to react in certain situations. But only one time, it was a sunny friendly day in the city Samara,
and I was robbed by a taxi gang before I even had much time to react. They forced me to take
money out from the ATM. It was really scary and I was shocked for the whole day but also happy
to have survived.
But in general, Russians are very easy-going, relaxed and nonaggressive.
You did a series on Hostess Girls. What led you to this particular project?
This was a short and spontaneous project and it was done in Germany, not in Russia where you
may expect it to have been done. I just loved to see these colorful plastic “uniforms” on the girls.
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