BYKANOVA
___ .POLINA
17.05 series
The series of works "17.05" is an exploratory project about the issues faced by the queer community, where the question of safety and freedom of speech for vulnerable populations remains a pressing concern worldwide. By dismantling long-standing stereotypes, the photographs in this series show us that anyone can love and have a need for love, as well as embrace this feeling with dignity and gratitude. State institutions foster cynical thoughts in society, creating parasitic notions that some individuals are better, while others are worse or not worthy at all. Society is divided into two camps: those who are capable of accepting others and those who have been indoctrinated with the idea, using national, cultural, and religious dogmas, that they are superior while others are mundane and unremarkable. These murky paradigms in people's minds lead to situations where members of the LGBTQ+ community do not feel safe, even on a personal level. This is further compounded by criminal persecution, extrajudicial punishment, harassment, and bullying, even from law enforcement institutions that are supposed to provide a sense of security but, in reality, only intensify collective trauma and fear in the present day. People suppress their inherent identities, plagued by fear of judgment, harassment, and oppression. The "17.05" series of works highlights that each of us has the right to freedom, love, and happiness.

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Ships from Moscow,Russia

+7 968 072 44 42
POLIBYKANOVA@GMAIL.COM