While working on this project, I was looking at reasons why people choose to stay in bed while the society requires them to be active from morning till night, unless they get sick, either physically or emotionally.
All the characters of the shooting are healthy and socially active; nevertheless their resting place is where sacred meanings are concentrated for them.
Activity, frozen for the outside world, is transferred within. There it turns not only into dreams, but also into plans, spontaneous decisions, insights, to say nothing of the fact that energy that isn’t put into action ends up restoring the sleeper’s health.
The characters of the project are different in terms of gender, age and social status. However, each of them can be compared to an anchored boat, hidden in a quiet harbor. For some people this anchor is represented by happy memories, for others by the need to restore themselves, the urge to feel safe, a wish to feel like a child. In this frozen moment of rest, when the entire outside world is cut off in order to activate the inner world, the person practically blends in the surroundings – the things, the bed, the interior. The circle closes, and the portrait becomes closely interlaced with a still-life.
I was inspired to do this project by my husband who loves taking a rest lying down. This is absolutely not typical for me because I’m always on the run. Trying to understand him, I got to know many people like him, who appreciate lying down for rest. While this series of shots was building up, a whole new world opened up to me.
About Yulia Artemyeva
Yulia Artemyeva was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia in 1983. In 2015, she received the title of Excellence Artist of FIAP (EFIAP) from The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP, France). Her works have been exhibited at group international exhibitions throughout Europe, North and South America and Asia. She is a winner and finalist of international photography competitions. [Official Website]
