Photographer Zula Rabikowska spent 100 days travelling through central and eastern Europe documenting womanhood and gender identity
– with a Soviet-era analogue camera that leaves behind a ‘curtain of light’ in the images, echoing the influence of Soviet historymeans encountering political systems where male dominance is prevalent, enduring sexist stereotypes, contending with stringent beauty norms, and navigating religious expectations. Zula Rabikowska’s Nothing But a Curtain documentary project explores womanhood and gender identity in these regions.
The motivation behind this project was very personal. As a Polish immigrant in London, Rabikowska became disheartened by the stereotypical representations of eastern Europe in English-speaking media. These depictions, which consistently featured elements such as babushka hats, snow, communist-era architecture, impoverished scenery and rural environments, fuelled Rabikowska’s determination to show contemporary central and eastern Europe from a different perspective.
Norvina, a transgender woman and performer smokes a cigarette in Bucharest, Romania. The hands of Gabi in Bucharest, Romania. Natasha sits on the grass with flowers in her hand opposite Mauer Park in Berlin, Germany. Mauerpark is a public park in Berlin and name translates to Wall Park, referring to its status as a former part of the Berlin Wall and its Death Strip.
“I wanted to fully immerse myself in the contemporary environment I would be photographing,” she says. “Apart from it being really labour-intensive, there were some unexpected parts of the execution of this project that really challenged me.
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