Nikita Teryoshin is a photographer living in Berlin
Episode 418: Nikita Teryoshin and I FINALLY made the podcast happen!!! I only joke about this as we had a couple of fantastic public talks at Soft Cover in Vienna and Arles this summer, which was quite remarkable. For that talk, we were accompanied by Wolfgang Zuborn, who worked with Nikita on his tremendous book Nothing Personal: the Back Offices of War, published this year by GOST.
Nikita is a rare young artist who comes along almost out of the blue and exhibits an alarming amount of talent, which you can most succinctly see in his books and editorial work. I called it very early on, but having been an early fan of his Nothing Personal Work, I can say very quickly that I think it is one of the best books published this year and one of the more impressive books coming from a documentary tradition that I have seen in some time. What is significant about the book is the subject matter, arms trade fairs, and how Nikita photographs them. Often, there is black humor in his work that is exemplified by the absurd idea of the fairs themselves, but also how he shoots his subject matter using various elements to hide faces and to suggest that the faceless punters at these fairs are strange humans involved in the business of killing another human industrially. Often hiding the faces of his subjects with guns, flowers, or several other arrangements, what makes Nikita’s images fascinating is how fast and consistently he can catch a moment at its apex that offers a clarifying detail but never reveals anything indicting. It is satire at its finest.
I am reminded of Martin Parr at his height and Lars Tunbjörk, two artists we spoke about during the conversation. The precision and vision Nikita exhibits with his work are masterful, and I expect great things from him coming forward. This is not to neglect his other work like Animal Espace Plan or his Backyard Diaries. Still, it is important to celebrate excellence when it arises, and Nothing Personal is one of those projects and books. If you do not believe me, feel free to consult PHotoESPAÑA, where the book already won the coveted Photobook of the Year award this year. Please join us and listen to our discussion. It was a blast.
