How would you identify a place from a photograph? Perhaps you’d look at the landmarks, signs, architecture or geographical features to figure out where in the world it might be. But is there another way? Venice People, Oleg Tolstoy travelled to California to photograph one of the most famous beaches in the world, and found that the essence of the land lay beyond the blue skies, sandy shores and palm trees.
“There is a real sense of micro-communities living and thriving side by side. Venice feels like an adult playground, the intersection of voyeur and performer,” commented the photographer, “it’s got an inimitable, unmistakable identity – that quirky bohemian vibe – and to capture that sense of place I realised I needed to look to the people.’
Having applied his unguarded, raw portraiture style to subjects in major world cities like London and Tokyo, Tolstoy found that perhaps more than anywhere else, the identity of Venice is embodied in its people. How many places are distinguishable solely through the characters who occupy it, beyond distinguishing traits like race, ethnicity, language or fashion? After all, this new series depicts gym heads, basketballers, rollerbladers and musicians who all differ in those respects, but who are all united and bound to each other and their location by their performative style and attitude. It’s the reason why a sad clown dons his makeup, or why an elderly gentleman, flaunting a remarkable physique that defies his 86 years, makes the trip from Koreatown to Muscle Beach four times a week to work out. It’s the carefree, bohemian, theatrical spirit that creates this community, which Tolstoy exposes and explores to state unequivocally that this could be nowhere in the world but Venice.
How would you identify a place from a photograph? Perhaps you’d look at the landmarks, signs, architecture or geographical features to figure out where in the world it might be. But is there another way? Venice People, Oleg Tolstoy travelled to California to photograph one of the most famous beaches in the world, and found that the essence of the land lay beyond the blue skies, sandy shores and palm trees.
“There is a real sense of micro-communities living and thriving side by side. Venice feels like an adult playground, the intersection of voyeur and performer,” commented the photographer, “it’s got an inimitable, unmistakable identity – that quirky bohemian vibe – and to capture that sense of place I realised I needed to look to the people.’
Having applied his unguarded, raw portraiture style to subjects in major world cities like London and Tokyo, Tolstoy found that perhaps more than anywhere else, the identity of Venice is embodied in its people. How many places are distinguishable solely through the characters who occupy it, beyond distinguishing traits like race, ethnicity, language or fashion? After all, this new series depicts gym heads, basketballers, rollerbladers and musicians who all differ in those respects, but who are all united and bound to each other and their location by their performative style and attitude. It’s the reason why a sad clown dons his makeup, or why an elderly gentleman, flaunting a remarkable physique that defies his 86 years, makes the trip from Koreatown to Muscle Beach four times a week to work out. It’s the carefree, bohemian, theatrical spirit that creates this community, which Tolstoy exposes and explores to state unequivocally that this could be nowhere in the world but Venice.
