Speaker

Mikhail Tolmachev

Mikhail Tolmachev (b. 1983, Moscow) is a visual artist and researcher based in Leipzig. His practice investigates the latent histories within the archives of state violence, exploring the threshold between photographic evidence and the mechanics of silencing. Working at the intersection of documentary photography and spatial installation, Tolmachev treats the archive not as a static repository, but as a contested site of excavation. Currently pursuing a practice-based PhD at Bauhaus University Weimar, he focuses on the dispersed photographic legacy of the earliest forced labor camps in the Soviet Union on the Solovetsky archipelago. His work employs forensic and performative strategies to expose the institutional gaze and the fractures in official narratives. Tolmachev’s projects have been presented internationally at venues including Tate Modern, Badischer Kunstverein, the Kyiv Biennial, and the Luleå Biennial.

Talks at this conference:

 Overview