Chamber of Wonders. Nature Morte

Daria Troitskaia discovered her motifs in the atelier of a Saint Petersburg collector: artefacts from past centuries and from every corner of the world. Together with Mascha Gontscharowa, she worked on different arrangements and composed her photographic, still-life series.

LFI: You capture old things in a new form (photography), but in a very traditional way – is still life experiencing a renaissance?
Daria Troitskaia: I love classical styles, I adore antiques, I really enjoy Renaissance Art. If you can combine a modern art form (photography) with vintage items and give them another chance to remain in history, that's important to me. Each of these objects has survived wars and drama, and in these still lifes the objects have come together and created a new context. I wish they could convey their story to the spectators accurately.

What was your photographic approach and what were the challenges?
The main difficulty arose unexpectedly: I didn't have enough space for my equipment in the workshop, and it wasn't possible to move all the objects elsewhere. Some still lifes were modified in the process of shooting: new subjects were added. We had some difficulties with the lighting too. Originally I wanted to shoot during the White Nights in natural light. White Nights are a period of approximately six weeks in Saint-Petersburg, when the sun doesn’t set completely. Unfortunately I didn't make it in time, and we had to use permanent light, which, on the other hand, allowed me to work at any time of day, regardless of the weather... and you better not count on good weather conditions in St. Petersburg.

How did the camera perform?
I shot with my favourite camera, the Leica S. For still lifes, I doubt there is a better option than a medium-format camera, as it captures many more colours and shades, and has a much larger information capacity. Besides, I shot these still lifes with interiors in mind, which means they should look good as prints, and with this camera I can print 150x100 cm with no loss of quality.