During the 1970s and 1980s, Mikhailov’s photographs
featured satirical criticism of the Soviet regime. Since the demise
of the Soviet Union, he has documented the poverty and social collapse
that has enveloped his homeland. The series Case History
(1997-8) includes almost 500 photographs, and focuses on the homeless
of Kharkov.
Mikhailov pays his subjects to pose for him, often
exposing their ravaged bodies with their tattoos, scars, bulging
bellies and sagging breasts. Mikhailov has defended himself against
charges of voyeurism, arguing that it is better to document and
draw attention to the suffering and degradation of his subjects
than to pretend it doesn’t exist. The harsh realism of these
works can be seen as an ironic retort to the airbrushed deceptions
of the Soviet-approved ‘Socialist Realism’.
