Photographer based in Tel-Aviv, Saint-Petersburg
Evgenii Petrushanskii
Tell us about yourself, what's your background?
I was born in an artistic family, so naturally, I got involved in the visual arts. It didn't click right away, but there was always an artistic routine that kept me rolling.
Away with Words; Anna is telling me about her heartbreak, Tel-Aviv, 2025
“Bliss is a personal, cinematic, and poetic project about my past, current depression, struggles in a world of modern norms and wars, and my own search for happiness”
This Is Never That; Lena, after falling flat on her face, Tel-Aviv, 2025
What are you currently working on and where did the inspiration for it come from?
Currently, I am developing a project — "Bliss", a personal, cinematic, and poetic project about my past, current depression, struggles in a world of modern norms and wars, and my own search for happiness; Project website — https://itisbliss.com/; I am also writing texts for the project and a script for a feature film based on the same stories described in those texts.
Scar Tissue; Stabbed by an ex, Tel-Aviv, 2025
Innovation does not only happen in the field of technology — it occurs everyday in a creative practice. What do you do for inspiration?
To be honest, lately I am a bit stuck, and I teach myself how to get over it. What am I in a modern world of insane reaction speed, in a world of artificial intelligence, in a world of "lack of intelligence". What do I expect to achieve photographically? In terms of words. Am I able to express to myself exactly what I am doing? To be clear, to be distinct, to be natural, both in text and in images.
Prometheus; Tim is reminiscing own struggle, Tbilisi, 2025
Where do ideas start for you?
I just observe things. For me, photography is an interpretation of how I would love to see things, and how I want to "put it to words" so others can read it. There is a lot of weird stuff in my images, while the other images can be very plain or simple in a narrative way. But all of a sudden, all of that makes sense if you pay attention to the details. Most people don’t.
Totem; A fantail pigeon broken free from its cage; Tel-Aviv, 2026
How do you make your work, does it start with a sketch?
Nothing specific, really; Before, I was much more free-spirited and chaotic in my approach, rather than today, when I try to get more conceptual in what I photograph. I try to balance it out recently, and I always learn new things.
Esplanade André-Chamson. Paris, 2007
Many artists live by their routines, what does that look like for you?
Not really; I am glad when I do not have to be busy with anything but my artistic practice. Unfortunately, in my world, it doesn't always work that way.
Royal Academy of Russian Ballet. Saint-Petersburg, 2015
Left: A lady is having a nap on a train. Bangkok, 2013. Right: Kurdish man with his pet rooster. Lefkosa, 2009
Who are your biggest influences?
There were lots of figures in art that influenced me greatly through different periods; I can not name anyone specifically, as the range is vast: Paul Gauguin to CyTwobly, Saul Later to Rimaldas Viksraitis, Arvo Pärt to John Frusciante. I got used to paying attention to details in every artwork that crossed my way, and of course, at the dawn of my artistic path, I infused everything as a vacuum; liking, disliking, analyzing, and interpreting.
An old couple overlooking La Manche stray. Dieppe, 2008
Are there books or films that are an important source of inspiration?
Novels of Nabokov(Bend Sinister), Camus(The Myth of Sisyphus), Steinbeck(Cannery Row), and Céline(Death on Credit) in literature, and Away with Words by Christopher Doyle, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie by John Cassavetes, Eternity and a Day by Theo Angelopoulos, and Sansa by Siegfried Debrebant in cinematography.
In the studio
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Not quite so literally, but "have a message before you want to say something".
Installation views
What is the best advice you would give to other artists?
Never get confused with what others expect you to be as an artist and as an individual.
Installation
Stay up to date with Evgenii Petrushanskii
Website eugenepetrushanskiy.com
Website itisbliss.com
Instagram @ex.lib