Yana Nosenko
MFA ’23 Photography
24.02.2022 from Beds
I haven’t been home for more than four years. I’m not even sure if my home is Moscow anymore. Every morning since leaving Russia, I have taken a self-portrait. The rules are simple: take a photograph right after waking up. No matter where, how, or with whom. This is my documentation of impermanence, the ritual that helps me stay grounded.
This iteration of the project commences on the morning of February 24, 2022, the day my country instigated a war in Ukraine. This development rendered it irrevocable for me to return. Despite the distressing news flooding in from across the globe, life persists. Each day, I awaken, switch on my camera, and capture a moment. I enact this ritual. While I often find solace in the interaction between myself and the camera, there are days when the burden is too heavy, and no self-portrait is taken.
This project is ongoing, and self-portraits are gradually added to the website. As of March 9, 2024, there are 799 self-portraits.
Yana Nosenko works across mediums to explore immigration, displacement, nomadism, and familial separation, reflecting on her own experiences growing up in Moscow, Russia. In 2023, Yana was awarded a residency at the Studios at MASS MoCA. That same year, she started working at the Griffin Museum of Photography as a Curatorial Associate and Exhibition Designer. Yana holds an MFA in Photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and currently resides in Boston, MA.
