Heavy Waters

Work series “Heavy Waters” is envisioned as a study of towns and rural territories scattered on the Crimean seashore, with a special focus on the entropy of the Soviet urban environment, interspersed with splashes of the new capitalist epoch in Crimea. A country lying close to waters has an advantageous location favourable for development via trade, although, historically, being on the crossroads of trade routes has always been risky. Since times immemorial, the Crimean Peninsula has been coveted by different countries, near and far. Also, some of the bloodiest battles of the Crimean War and WWII have been fought here. Since the end of WWII and until the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Crimea was part of the Soviet Union, and it was then that it grew into one of the most popular resorts in the Soviet Union. In those days, a plethora of various sanatoriums, health resorts and recreation centres were built, the prominent functionaries of the Communist Party acquired real estate there, and, to date, Crimea remains a prestigious holiday destination for a considerable part of the wealthy population of Russia. The President of Russia V. Putin still owns a villa in Crimea. The demographic situation in the modern Crimea, however, has undergone radical changes since many of the sanatoriums and health resorts that were built in Soviet times are now closed, and the Crimean Peninsula doesn’t have a developed industry or other branches of economy that could provide the locals with constant employment opportunities. Oftentimes, the only source of income, especially for the retired elderly people, is renting out their flats to tourists in the summer. This series of works is envisioned as a study of towns and rural territories scattered on the Crimean seashore, with a special focus on the entropy of the Soviet urban environment, interspersed with splashes of the new capitalist epoch in Crimea.