“Code: Reboot” 

digital photography 
 2020 

 In the project “Code: Reboot”, I am fundamentally changing the classical ideas about how men and women should look and behave, which can be seen in the works of artist Rodney Smith. His “code” is impeccable compositions, strict costumes symbolizing masculinity, and airy images of femininity used as a backdrop. I use these images to show how they can change under the influence of the modern world. I’m not just changing characters (for example, replacing a gentleman with a businesswoman), but showing that these established images can become vulnerable in the face of changes in society. Paris, which is often called the cradle of Enlightenment and the arena of revolutions, was not chosen by chance. Its architecture, symbolizing classical harmony, becomes a contrast for new images: women, whose power and status are expressed through a visual language that was previously considered exclusively masculine (costume, pose, urban environment). I avoid unambiguous statements: compositional references to Smith create a sense of uncertainty and incompleteness of the transition, reminding that any changes are associated with the risk of losing something important (historical context, nuances). “Code: Reboot” is a dialogue with fear of the disintegration of old norms and uncertainty about new ones. Using the “elements” of Smith’s visual tradition, I create new meanings. The work shows that in an era of change, harmony is not a return to the past or a blind acceptance of the new, but a constant reinterpretation and alteration, where aesthetics become a defense against chaos and a tool for creating a future that has yet to be written.