Natasha Shulte (Ukraine):

Line

"Line comprises pairs of photographs that investigate the lives of children abandoned by their parents. Each work combines two similar portraits of a child from the orphanage in Belgorod-Dnestrovky: in one, the child is dressed in their usual orphanage clothes, in the second, the image of cleanliness and innocence has been formed. Combined with the precise classical composition, the portraits become symbolically loaded statements of youth, of lost dreams and illusions. The work questions whether there is any reality for those who, since their childhood, have not had the most valuable thing in life: homes and families."

Natasha Shulte studied at the Photography School, Paris and has since exhibited her work internationally, winning numerous prizes and awards. In 2011 she was nominated for the Pinchuk Art Centre Prize, awarded biannually to the Ukraine’s leading contemporary artists, was named Editorial Photographer of the Year in the International Photography Awards and won first place for outstanding achievement in the Photography Masters Cup. She participated in the PX3 2011 Prix de la Photographie Paris, winning gold, silver and bronze in several categories.

Images © Natasha Shulte.