Ermitazhniki (Grey Matters)

Photographer Lucia Ganieva visited the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg not to admire its wonderful art collection but to photograph the guards who keep an eye on the paintings as well as on the millions of art lovers and tourists passing through every year.
These guards often work for decades in the museum, as witnessed by the ID they carry on their chests – obviously first issued when the guards were much younger. The guards will typically work in the same room or hall for years, and over time one work of art will come to occupy a special place in their hearts.
So Lucia photographed the guards in front of their favourite painting, and in doing so she shows us something quite extraordinary: the guards have developed a resemblance to the persons portrayed in the paintings! Her portraits even shows three portraits of the “same” woman! Look at the colours, the eyes, the shape of the head, the way they allow themselves to be portrayed! Only the very best photographers are able to see what we ordinary people miss. The stunning, elegant portrait series proves what a great master Lucia Ganieva is.