Anna’s BluePrint project is a photo essay entitled Our Suitcase (Nash Chemodan). This body of work shows “portraits” of items that immigrants took with them when leaving the Soviet Union for a life in the United States. Because of censorship and the restriction on communication, many had no idea what to take and what to leave behind. As a result, families arrived carrying objects that they would never use again. These seemingly useless things traveled halfway around the world because of their presumed necessity. The photographs reveal the mindset of immigrants facing the unknown and unpredictable on the other side of the Iron Curtain. With little money and no guarantee of a job, refugees prepared for a period of frugality and self-sufficiency. The things they brought with them were supposed to provide comfort or utility. The fact that many still hang on to these obsolete articles points to a certain nostalgia, if not for their friends and family from Soviet times, then for a country that no longer exists.
A “portraits” of items
Our Suitcase featured in Tablet Mag: http://tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/154856/anna-loshkin-refuseniks
Anna’s website: http://www.annaloshkin.com
Fellows
Anna Loshkin Our Suitcase (Nash Chemodan) Anna Loshkin was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and immigrated with her family to Boston in 1988. She worked in the internet field for ten years before pursuing photography and journalism. Her work has been featured in BBC Russia, VICE, Grazia, Tablet Mag and others. Her photographs have been exhibited in the US and UK, as well at the on-line International Museum of Women. Anna’s project on influential Afghan women will be featured in the Other One Hundred, an upcoming book and travelling exhibition, and received an honorable mention in the 2014 International Photography Awards. You can see more of her work at www.annaloshkin.com.
