Last Updated on 06/08/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
All photos by Dmitri Pryahin. Used with Creative Commons permission.
If you were intrigued and hypnotized by the unique and often haunting visual stories of Russian photographer Dmitri Pryahin, we have another of his fascinating series for you to draw inspiration from. In this body of work, titled ICEDRIFT, he continues to push the boundaries of portraiture and conceptual photography to with surreal perceptions of dance and interpretation of human movements.
For this project, Pryahin photographed the movements of dance squad Tekstil, making it part performance art, part dance photography, and part conceptual photography. Given all we know about his work through both this interview and this previous feature, it’s interesting to see him apply the same provoking ideas and symbolism to a bigger scope of human expression. While this series suggests it’s no longer just about raw inner monologues, since it doesn’t feature a singular subject, we can still see his ideas and sensibilities about photographing people and their psyche.
The dance photography part of this series certainly puts the spotlight on the dynamic, eccentric movements brought to the frames by Tekstil. Instead of drawing attention of the human psyche through weird facial expressions and peculiar contortions, ICEDRIFT is all about exploring the complex movements, twists, and bends without leaving out the grace suggested by dance. The mix may look chaotic, dark, and visually overwhelming, especially in Pryahin’s signature diptych style, but it certainly brings more energy, intensity, and intrigue to the art of dance photography.
A statement from our interview applies very much to this series as well:
“For me, the state of inspiration from when a person is restless, moving, or expressing what is happening inside him is very important… When the body obeys the motive, it moves itself, and it’s interesting to observe. I make this the subject of my photos.”
Don’t forget to check out Dmitri Pryahin’s Behance portfolio to see more of his intriguing photography.