Slav Gaze

Slav Gaze is a photo series that reflects on Eastern European culture as it appears on social media, where posts often showcase a fascination with luxury and refinement. Across many post-Soviet countries, there’s a tendency for people to share photos of extravagant meals, stylish outfits, or their latest coveted possessions. These curated glimpses of life focus on a glamorous facade, generally seeming to distract from the less picturesque realities of the everyday.

While these images indulge in a highly curated portrayal of beauty, I’ve often been surprised by what they omit: the raw, often unpolished landscapes surrounding them. A psychologist once suggested that this desire to showcase beauty stems from a longing for aesthetic relief - a response to the “ugliness” many feel surrounds them, particularly in the form of grey, brutalist architecture that defines much of the region. This perspective resonates with the post-Soviet experience, where harsh aesthetics shape not only the environment but also a collective relationship with identity and memory.

Through Slav Gaze, I aim to question these contrasts and reclaim the overlooked beauty within this rawness. To me, the architecture, the landscapes, and the textures of Eastern Europe hold a distinct kind of power - one that speaks of resilience, history, and truth. These environments, with their imperfections and their stories, are inseparable from who we are.

By embracing these overlooked elements in my project, I hope to challenge the idea that beauty only exists in polished perfection. Instead, this photo series highlights that our surroundings, no matter how unrefined, shape our identity and remain with us, forever etched into our personal and collective memory.

Varvara Uhlik was part of Face-to-Face: Arles Edition 2024.

Check out her Artist Feature Sunshine, How Are You?