Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
Images made in the homes of the Udmurtian people, who live in villages in central Russia. Striking are the photographic wallpapers, that are in practically every house, in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. In decorating the walls of their homes with photographic wallpaper, they found a way to materialise their dreams of far away and exotic places, places they will never be able to visit but in their dreams. The images show these wall decorations, that have fully become part of the interiors, and, like the dreams of the inhabitants, have no clear boundaries.
Photos by: Lucia Ganieva
“These are villages where people are not following the trends, but create their own style,” says Ganieva. “The people who live there, most of them are not very rich, however they do have very cosy and colorful houses and I think in this way with their wallpaper they go into dreaming, because they cannot really travel to other countries. But also it’s quite expensive to go to other places in Russia.”
For Ganieva, who was raised in St. Petersburg but now lives in Amsterdam, the wallpaper brought back memories. Her own childhood home in Russia had similar wallpaper. “About 35 years ago it was a big trend in Russia, everywhere all people had this, also my parents when I was a child,” she says.
Ganieva was in the region for two weeks in the summer of 2010, at the invitation of the Rodchenko School of Arts in Moscow to tutor young photographers in the field. While on her own, she began photographing the wallpaper she came across. Dreaming Walls and Land of Birches are the two halves of the project that came out of it. Together they offer a portrait of one of those unexpected expressions of culture you’d probably never hear about if you didn’t stumble upon it yourself.
As nature scenes go, these wallpapers run the gamut. Lakes and rivers, mountain ranges and beach scenes, a cluster of magnolias or tigers crouching in the jungle — they’re about as exotic to this birch-bound part of Russia as you could imagine. Their garish colors are framed with the furniture and miscellany of the homes they decorate. The effect succeeds in pulling the viewer between two Udmurtian environments–those they occupy and those they yearn to visit.
A Cultural Display
More than just the Udmurtian equivalent of a photo of the Eiffel Tower decorating some suburbanite’s bedroom, the images are a window into the values of the region. The republic of Udmurtia is located less than a thousand miles northeast of Moscow, and is home to some 130 different ethnicities–one of the most diverse areas in Russia. The mostly rural people observe a long-standing animist tradition despite an overwhelming influence of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam in the region. This animism–characterized by a worship of nature itself, particularly the birch tree–explains the prevalence of the nature scenes pasted up on everybody’s walls.
“They don’t have icons at home, but in this way the do have their “god” inside their homes,” says Ganieva.
Most of the shooting was accomplished with the guidance of friendly villagers she met during her travels. Ganieva says people in the region are happy to invite people into their homes, and proud to show off the decorations. On several occasions the homeowners would be out working or worshipping in the woods, but since everyone pretty much knows everyone in this region her guides had access to the homes anyway. Once she was inside, it wasn’t hard to find what she was looking for.
“In some houses they have two or three–in the living room, in the bedroom, in the kitchen, but also in the municipality and in a school I took photos, actually everywhere. In some houses they were old, maybe 20 years, but in some houses quite new, maybe a few weeks.”
With the eye-catching wallpaper, it’s easy to overlook the signs of the rooms that contain them. All together the pictures aren’t just an interesting cultural artifact — it’s a whole aesthetic that’s actually quite charming and even beautiful. For Ganieva, it’s a testament to what they represent to the residents.
“It amazed me how they succeeded in creating a special place by combining their furniture, plants and flowers and the wallpapers in a subtle but almost artistic way,” she says.
All photos by Lucia Ganieva
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