Valery Smirnov

Your background is rooted in cinematography, documentary, and reportage. How has this experience shaped the way you construct images as an artist?

In the work of a cinematographer, attention to detail is essential, because sometimes details become the key through which it is possible to show one’s vision of the world and solve the task at hand. They allow me to place emphasis precisely where I have the opportunity to share my own reading of reality.

You describe photography as material for “reassembling reality”. What does this process mean to you on a practical and philosophical level?

On a philosophical level, for me, it is the creation of an alternative reality. The world around us consists of countless elements, and therefore the number of possible combinations tends toward infinity. By reassembling reality, I find in each of my works only one of these possible versions. Imagine a child’s kaleidoscope, where with every turn the composition of the crystals changes. On a practical level, I could say that I am turning a kaleidoscope in which, instead of crystals, there are my photographs. They can form different compositions, and I stop when I feel that the elements have come together into something stable and complete.

Valery Smirnov | A New Beginning

Your works combine fragments taken in different countries, seasons, and contexts. How do you decide which visual elements belong together in one composition?

It happens in different ways. Sometimes I take a photograph as a starting point, look closely at it, read its mood, and study the details that may have faded into the background at the moment of shooting. I try to sense what else could exist there. What could add mystery to the composition, something that would invite reflection and activate associative thinking? At other times, when I am not working on a composition at all — for example, on my way home — a very clear image suddenly appears in my mind, showing me what should be brought together.

Many of your images exist between photography, digital collage, and cinematic vision. Do you see your works as photographs, digital paintings, visual narratives, or something in between?

In their form, my works synthesize these concepts, presenting a diversity of artistic expression.

Valery Smirnov | Penetration | 2026

Light, reflections, distortions, and movement play a central role in your visual language. What attracts you to these unstable, almost elusive states of the image?

I am attracted by the possibility of capturing these states and giving other people the chance to see them. I want to show that the world around us contains many truly fantastic moments created by light, by the combination of textures, and by the point of perception from which you are looking at that very moment. It is like being in the right place at the right time. The light changes — the reflections disappear. You take one step closer — and the reflection is already completely different. One variable changes, and the magical image is gone.

Your compositions often seem to activate associative thinking rather than offer a direct narrative. What kind of response or inner movement do you hope to evoke in the viewer?

I would like the viewer to be able to reflect and engage their own unconventional perception. To take on the role of an explorer of their own feelings, thoughts, and associations born from my works. To slow down, to feel inspired, and to sense that consciousness is being given the opportunity to think without limitations.

Valery Smirnov | Vibrations | 2026

Your works contain a strong sense of energy — almost as if reality is vibrating, dissolving, or reforming. Is this connected to your perception of the contemporary world?

I think there are several factors. One of them is that I am a person whose element is fire, and I believe this energy inevitably finds an outlet in my creative work. Of course, it is also connected to my perception of the contemporary world — a world that is changing rapidly, bringing new laws, new standards, and new paths of development.