Dirt frozen, Dirt melted, Dirt dusty

This series is part of a comprehensive photographic project about one of Russia's major industrial areas in the southern Ural region, Chelyabinsk Oblast. Besides a focus on manmade landscapes I also wanted to give a face to the social surroundings of the people, who live in this heavy metal, radioactive and air polluted blue-collar towns, that mainly are known for military industries, nuclear catastrophies and harsh living conditions. How is life on the streets in the most uncomfortable season of the year, when dirt is first frozen, then melted and then dusty as locals say, the time when cities transform into 'mudland'. The big format photographs mainly show cityscapes with single persons or small groups in their rural environment, sharp and detailed enough to capture the individual on big format prints.