“Being Narcissus” by Sofia Zwokbenkel

SOFIA ZWOKBENKEL IS A FINE ART, PORTRAIT AND FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER. BORN IN ST. PETERSBURG (RUSSIA) SHE EMIGRATED TO GERMANY WHEN SHE WAS 11 AND RAISED BETWEEN RUSSIAN, JEWISH AND GERMAN CULTURES. PHOTOGRAPHY WAS A FASCINATION TO HER SINCE SHE COULD WATCH HER PARENTS DEVELOPING FILMS IN THE KITCHEN WHEN SHE WAS A SMALL GIRL. YET BEFORE TREADING THE PATH OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY SHE STUDIED GERMAN LITERATURE AND WORKED IN THEATRE.
WORKING NOW WITH DANCERS AND THEATRE ARTISTS HER PORTRAITS ARE OSCILLATING BETWEEN DREAM AND REALITY. IMPROVISING SHE IS SEARCHING FOR HIDDEN AND MULTIPLE SIDES OF A CHARACTER, FOCUSING ON THE SENSUALITY OF A BODY’S MOVEMENT, EXPLORING THE POETRY OF THE MOMENT. AS A PASSIONATED FASHIONLOVER IT’S HER PURPOSE TO COMBINE CLOTHING WITH PARTICULAR TUNES FIGURING OUT THE SENSUAL DIALOG BETWEEN COSTUMES AND BODIES.

This is a story about loss and love: the story of a modern Narcissus – an androgynous and artificial character searching for his lost identity, which he is trying to find in the mirrors of the world. Who is he, a man or a woman, is he real or fake? Who is the beautiful creature in the mirrors, he is longing for and which always disappears? This is a story of a lonesome search for the intangible and a love doomed to fail.