Desperation of Landscape - © Essential Goods
Desperation of Landscape - © Essential Goods

Yana Kononova

Yana Kononova (1977) was born in Pirallahi, Azerbaijan. Growing up on the Apsheron peninsula, the region of the Caspian Sea is culturally shaped by oil and gas extraction and known for its mud volcanoes. Yana’s family migrated to Ukraine during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, however the significance of these initial landscapes as well as her academic background in engineering and social sciences can be felt in her ecocritical investigations today. Drawing inspiration from contemporary theory-fiction philosophy and monochromatic topographies of the Chinese Song Dynasty, Kononova’s practice explores environments. Using medium and large-format analog cameras, Yana creates images that imagine the multi-dimensionality history of a place.