"I saw a frozen country. An isolated and determined generation. A counter-culture on its last breath, but still resisting." Augustin Rebetez Demain jamais brings together photographs taken in Russia between 2018 and 2023 in the regions of the Ural, Siberia, Yakutia, and the Far East. Initially invited for an artistic residency in Yekaterinburg, Augustin Rebetez was quickly drawn to the harshness of the winters, the immensity of the distances, but also by the warmth of the people he met. How do young people live in the provinces? What do they look like? How do you grow up under an authoritarian regime? What can still be created in Russia today? On several occasions, he traveled the country, focusing on local art scenes. At the same time, Russia was closing in on itself. First due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then to the invasion war in Ukraine. Thanks to dynamic networks, he shared his work, collaborated with other artists, and integrated into his approach those who identified with it. A sensitive mapping of a frozen and secluded territory, a portrait of an isolated and determined generation, images of a counter-culture on its last breath: Demain jamais creates a bridge – fragile and necessary – between East and West. For this event, Augustin Rebetez presents this work in the form of a slideshow, accompanied live by Biel musician REA. This meeting is organized in the catalog room by the Centre de la photographie Genève, currently hosted by the Bibliothèque de Genève due to renovation work at the Bâtiment d’art contemporain.
