Moscow Stories

Sightseeing Moscow

James Hill: Energy of the Russians is Concentrated in Moscow

Correspondent: Mr. Hill, an exhibition of your new photo project Victory Day has just come to an end in Moscow. But how did the idea of such exhibition occur?
James Hill: I saw veterans of the Great Patriotic War when I visited Moscow for the first time in 1991 and got to know them. At that time on the Victory Day I visited the Gorky Park and the public garden in front of the Bolshoi Theatre. Then I got a feeling that the time had to be stopped and these people had to be photographed: it had to be done before they passed away. They are a link, the last stronghold of our memory of that terrible war. In 2006 I went to a street with a camera, created an improvised street studio and started photographing. Veterans of the war are key figures, almost like icons. But I tried to look at them somehow differently, to render their personal history in a portrait. I understood that one photo session and one year is not enough; therefore, I began attending meetings of veterans every year. So, the Victory Day exhibition appeared.

Corr.: How is the Victory Day celebrated in Great Britain?
J.H.: It is accepted by us to celebrate the end of the First World War, and we honour veterans of all wars on that day. I am from a military family. My father was a paratrooper, his grandfather fought at the front of the First World War, and his grandfather was a hussar. Military traditions took roots in my family long ago, for this reason this topic is extremely close to me. Relations between ordinary people and veterans are the most striking in Russia. It gives the most powerful emotions to me as a photographer.

Corr.: You are the master of reportage, why are you referring to a portrait now?
J.H.: I have always been interested in a portrait as a photography style. Portraitists Irving Penn, an American photographer, classic of the XX century, and August Sander, a German great classic of the beginning of the XX century, are my most favourite artists. But I decided to come to photojournalism through photo reportage. I have been working as a press photographer in the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, African and Eastern countries for 10 years.

I selected the photo portrait style for the project on veterans because only it can demonstrate to the audience and render the feeling of the power of these people, their moral courage. They went through a terrible and difficult way: war, collapse of the Soviet Union, the wild 90s. These people had very difficult life; they stood everything and stay with us to this day.

Corr.: Are there any difference between the Moscow audience and the audience of other European cities?
J.H.: I would say that the Moscow audience is constantly longing for new artistic impressions. My first exhibition was at the gallery at Solyanka in 2006. There were very tough military works — series of reportages from Afghanistan, Iraq. Over five thousand visitors attended that small display area within two weeks.

Corr.: What is the difference between national character of the Russian and British people?
J.H.: Russian and British mentality is undoubtedly different. But what is the difference? It cannot be described in a word, several books can be written. But it is good that we are absolutely different. If everybody is similar, it won’t be so interesting.

Attractiveness of Russia is unquestionable. What’s why many foreigners want to live here. I went to Russia for the first time in 1991, had been living in Kiev for four years, then in Moscow for the same period. After Russia I had been working in Italy for five years and returned to Moscow in 2003. Since then I have been working and living here with my family. My wife is a French woman, she has been living here for 14 years. We have two children.

Corr.: What were you thinking of when preparing for visiting the USSR for the first time?
J.H.: I don’t remember (smiling)... But I remember quite well that the most shocking thing was the moment of arrival and the difference between expectations and what I found here in reality. I was stricken by the Russian people, their openness and friendliness, that spiritual liaison that arises between people at once. That’s why I always have a longing for staying here.

Corr.: Your Moscow — what is it like?
J.H.: I live on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street and love this district very much. Conservatory, Mayakovsky Theatre — epicentres of culture — are located nearby. What a pleasure to walk here! Buildings in that part of the city are low and a beautiful view of the city can be seen from my window on the third floor. This place is so European and traditionally Moscow at the same time. For example, a person with a real pigeon-house at his balcony lives one floor down.

Corr.: How do you guide your friends before their trip to Moscow?
J.H.: Moscow is a convenient city for tourists. You cannot be lost here, you can always ask for your location and somebody comes to your aid. I tell my friends: you have to go on foot or by the underground a lot in this city. In this case you can feel Moscow.

Everything located near the Kremlin is to be explored in the first place. It is the most touristic route. Then the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts are to be visited. And, of course, the Bolshoi Theatre. It is the indisputable list of the capital sights.

Moscow is a very interesting city filled with world cultural values. But the most important thing is that the energy of the Russians is concentrated in Moscow, as if it embraces all Russia.

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