Misha Gordin

Misha Gordin was born in Riga, Latvia in 1946 under soviet communist rule. Gordin considers himself to be more representative of Russian culture than Latvian, due to the nature of the environment he was raised in. At age 19, Gordin began photographing but was dissatisfied with the results, believing the images lacked expressiveness. He shifted his focus to reading literature and studying cinematography.

In 1972, Gordin produced his breakout photo: Confession. He describes the process for Confession as one of immediate realization that he should be photographing “concepts”. Gordin believes that conceptual photography is a higher form of artistic expression, placing it on par with poetry, music, and sculpture. He further believes that conceptual photography has the ability to reflect answers to major questions of life, like birth and death. After producing this image, Gordin decided to move to the United States at age 28.

Gordin does admit that he manipulates his photos, although the process is a very precise and unforgiving one. By using an enlarger and a masking technique in a traditional darkroom he is able to create conceptual, surreal worlds capable of evoking strong emotional reactions. Gordin creates a composite of negatives in order to place his models within surreal worlds, and his process does not include photoshop or any other digital enhancement programs.

Gordin’s style is surreal and eerie. His images seem to evoke a feeling of isolation and alienation. Many of his models are portrayed as identical to each other, and burdened by some sort of overwhelming task or struggle. His clever use of pattern ties in well with his mockery of ‘sameness’ in the models of his photos. Although he has never spoken about it, it seems plausible that this theme of ‘sameness’ and struggle through toil could be Gordin’s reaction to communism. Speaking of communism, Gordin said in an interview, “I consider myself lucky to spend 28 years of my life under communist regime and to be able freely express acquired experience from the other side of the "iron curtain".”