Photo exhibition by Alexander Kazakov "Reaction Time"

Surprise, joy, triumph, grief. Emotions that exist outside of time, but manifest during significant events. Gallery Gallery presents a personal photo exhibition of Alexander Kazakov, for the camera and the look of which there are no politicians, poets, soldiers, janitors and athletes. Much more important is the sincerity of human feelings and the power of emotions.

Report photography is, by definition, a genre that is inextricably linked with an event, with a scene, with the scope of an editorial assignment. A genre that exists and develops in conditions of external and internal restrictions. The very concept of "event" also implies some kind of plan, scenario, goal. The event determines the behavior of the characters and the expectations of the viewer. The event forces the photographer to follow not his logic, has an effect on the result.

To the question: “Why did you shoot this?”, Alexander Kazakov gives a simple answer: “I shot, because it happened!”. It is all the more interesting to observe how Alexander manages to lead the viewer along a fine line, on which something serious and hard comes into contact with something sincere and human. And this is what determines the key aspect of the perception of his work.

Despite the fact that the shooting is reportage, it is almost not connected with historical time. Without a signature, without a date, without mentioning the place, it is almost impossible to understand in which year the parade, rally, race took place. However, in the frame there is always another time - instant! This is the time of emotion, the time that will determine the internal reaction of a person. A reaction that cannot be faked.

For Alexander Kazakov, there is no fundamental difference between the surprise of an official or the joy of a skateboarder. His gaze captures a pure, absolute emotion. Over and over again, the author is surprised at the sincerity that violates, and sometimes destroys, the established course of events. Alexander Kazakov argues that no one will ever be able to predetermine a person’s living reaction. That the dark side of the moon will always be dark, that only a monument can be washed clean, that life is always here and now.

Alexander Kazakov

“Photographers are people who work by touch. Strictly speaking, they don’t even see what they are shooting. In SLR cameras, which for the most part, they work, when the shutter is released, the mirror rises and for a split second the object being shot disappears from the field of view. That is, we do not see the same frame! Only feel. This hunch is the main strength of our profession. It consists of experience, luck and patience. The exhibition "Reaction Time" for me is an occasion to take stock of 10 years of creative activity. Something to revise, rethink and move on. ”

Born in 1990.
2007-2012 - studied at the Faculty of World Economy at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations.
2008-2012 - an independent photographer.
2013-2016 - photojournalist of the newspaper "Evening Moscow".
2016-2019 - photo correspondent for the Izvestia newspaper.