Nothing But a Curtain

The collapse of the Soviet Union meant the loss of former identities and the acquisition of a new sense of individuality. In the former “Eastern Bloc”, the end of communism led to the escalation of gender-specific segregation in the labour market, contributing to a ‘feminisation of poverty’ and economic divisions between men and women. To this day, growing up in Central and Eastern Europe means facing male-dominated political systems, sexist stereotypes, restrictive beauty standards, familial and religious expectations.

In the summer of 2021, I travelled 4,552 miles (7325.80 km) across the former “Eastern Bloc”, to document how younger generations experience traces of an obsolete world order.

Tracing the border known as the “Iron Curtain”, I photographed and interviewed 104 people about their personal experiences of gender and womanhood. Travelling only by public transport, I visited 20 cities across Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. For millions, the end of communism in Europe, symbolised by the 1989 Berlin Wall collapse, brought about a personal, social and political transition. I focused on women, non-binary, genderfluid and transgender people, who were born during this transition like me.

With this project, I want to challenge the way that Central and Eastern European women and non-binary people are presented and contribute to a discussion about borders and gender identity in the 21st Century.

Nothing But a Curtain consists of photographs, moving image, archival images and documents, and installations. This multidisciplinary approach seeks to challenge linear documentary story-telling conventions and to allow for a plurality of voices and experiences to be seen and heard. I embarked on this journey, with a Soviet-made Kiev 80 camera, produced in a military factory in 1978 in Kiev. The metal shutter of the camera imprints a “curtain” of light within the images, echoing the way Soviet history has shaped gender identity.

The project was funded by Getty Images, University of the Arts London, and Kuala Lumpur International Photo Awards.