Homo Sovieticus

by Carl De Keyzer

(U.S.S.R. 1989 C.C.C.P.) Dutch edition of Homo Sovieticus by Belgian photographer Carl De Keyzer. The Russian people photographed between 1988 and 1989.

Genres: Photography

116 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

About the author

Carl de Keyzer started his career as a freelance photographer in 1982 while supporting himself as a photography instructor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium. At the same time, his interest in the work of other photographers led him to co-found and co-direct the XYZ-Photography Gallery. A Magnum nominee in 1990, he became a full member in 1994.

De Keyzer constructs book and exhibition projects through an accumulative approach, using large and medium formats. Examples are Homo Sovieticus 1989 about the collapse of the Soviet Union, ZONA 2003 (visiting 50 prison camps in Siberia,) Trinity 2007 (a conceptual book about the trinity of power), DPR Korea (2017). His seminal project, God, Inc. I and II captured religious life on the margins of American society in 1992 and 2020.

Systems of power and their visual impact on society are the main themes of his work. Subjects related to colonialism, communism, religion... are documented in their own propagandistic style. Esthetics and 'house styles' of the systems in question are often adopted to obtain a layered effect.

Reviews

[Ясен В. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly well done study of the public life in soviet countries. Carl's photos speak volumes and his compositions and captured moments are a joy to behold.