Opening of Victoria Sorochinsky's exhibition at the Mandarin Maison Gallery

A personal exhibition of the photographer from Berlin Victoria Sorochinsky opened on September 3 in the MANDARIN MAISON art by Spivakovska gallery. The guests of the event were treated to an experimental free jazz band by MUSHROOMONiON and a fascinating journey into the world of Victoria’s self-portraits.

This exhibition presents one of the most recent projects by Viкtoria Sorochinski: “Tete-a-Tete”, created during the COVID lockdown in Berlin – Germany.

Tête-à-Tête is an expression borrowed from French that translates literally as “face to face” and usually refers to an intimate meeting between two people or a very private / confidential conversation.

This series of self-portraits is a journey into Viktoria’s subconscious, where she explores her childhood memories, dreams, fears and fantasies with a somewhat humorous approach. Through this journey, she is metaphorically encountering with her own self “face to face”, while at the same time allowing the viewers to have a glimpse into her inner world.

We all carry with us the inseparable “baggage” of our past, our experiences, and our childhood memories. It is always there with us, and it often informs our dreams, influences our subconcious reactions to certain situations, or finds its way into our relationships with others.

 Being an immigrant her entire life, Viktoria Sorochinski’s psychological “baggage” is multifaceted and complex. Her identity is shaped by the different cultures and countries where she has lived. “It is often difficult for me to determine which culture I really belong to and where the place that I should call my home is,” admits Viktoria.

 The symbols she explores in this series have a deep personal meanings to her, however, they are also drawn from the “collective wisdom” and the universal symbols that people from different cultures can relate to, even if they mean something different to them.

Therefore, this project is also a kind of invitation for the viewers to take part in this personal and at yet very playful dialogue, to travel with Viktoria in their imagination and, perhaps, even encounter with  their own shadows and psychological baggage Tête-à-Tête.

The exhibition with the support of the Leica Camera Austria.

The exhibition was held from September 4 to September 19.