Russian photographer Oleg Dou is exhibiting his new series entitled “Cubs” at Senda Gallery) in Barcelona, Spain. The Cubs series features portraits of children with a “grim perfection, pale complexion and lifeless look.”

Inspired at first by the tradition of child funeral portraits practiced in the 19th century, Dou confides that the series also stems from an unhappy childhood memory when he was forced to wear  white rabbit costume (made by his mother) to a party. The little Oleg felt terrible and burst into tears when he had to smile for the camera. “I couldn’t pretend being happy in front of the camera, I hated being photographed. The image finally reflected my discomfort and my vexation. It’s still often the case today. I try to recreate the expression of this embarrassment in my portraits, but this time, I provoke it. For the ‘Cubs’ series, all the costumes were tailored by my mother, based on my sketches.”

Oleg Dou is representative of a new generation of Russian artists. Fascinated by human faces and inspired both by classical painting and fashion photography, Dou explores the maximum of plastic qualities of the medium. According to him, he doesn’t spread any social or political message. Combining shooting and digital retouch, Dou’s photographs push the aesthetic to the margin of strangeness.  “I’m interested in the human being, his face, his expressions. I enjoy playing with the visitor’s perception. That’s why photography is my favorite discipline: it can create this thin border between reality and beyond. Embellishing my models is not a goal in itself, but it’s the instrument with whom “I catch” the visitor. It’s narrative material”. (from Senda Gallery)

To see more, visit DouArt.ru.