Russian photographer Alexey Titarenko seems to have stepped back in time to capture the decay, deterioration and resignation of modern-day Havana and its inhabitants in these 15 new images from his series "Havana Sketches". In some ways these photos have a similar moodiness to his earlier masterwork from his home town of Saint Petersburg. With his long-exposure technique, the buildings and ruins are rich in detail. Yet people in the streets appear like anonymous phantoms, passing through, outside of time. Titarenko's mastery creates images that seem timeless, yet in the details, we can find clues that indeed these photographs were made in the 21st century and are very much locked in the present.

This new work originally appeared at the Nailya Alexander Gallery in New York City in Spring 2007, and it is now traveling to an exhibition in Moscow which will open on June 6.

Another solo exhibition of Titarenko's earlier work is on display now through May 27, at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. That exhibition includes black and white photographs drawn from three bodies of work by Titarenko: "City of Shadows" (1992 – 1994) made during the collapse of the Soviet Union, "Black And White Magic of St. Petersburg" (1995 – 1997) influenced by Dostoevsky's early stories, specifically White Nights, and "Time Standing Still" (1998 – 2000) which documents Russia's economic collapse during that period and the human tragedies and struggles for survival that occurred during that time.