You can tell everything you need to know about what Victoria Lomasko thinks of her homeland by the titles of this book’s two sections: ‘Invisible’ and ‘Angry’. A graphic artist from Serpukhov, just south of Moscow, Lomasko spent eight years documenting people from all walks of life across Russia, producing drawing and commentary about the ‘Russia that is hardly ever seen’. Many of her fellow citizens feel invisible. Almost all of them are angry. The effect of seeing this in cartoon form is disturbing, impressive and fascinating.
The subject matter she is dealing with is almost unbearable: juvenile prison wards, sex workers, protesters affected by Russia’s homophobic laws. Lomasko calls this ‘reportage’ and she has modelled her work on the albums produced by Russian soldiers and concentration camp inmates in the 19th and 20th centuries. She frequently engaged her subjects in conversation and added in their quotes.
In ‘Invisible’, she brings to life the people who are socially isolated: ‘They have no way to “move up” in life, and no access to the public arena.’
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