Yury Toroptsov was born in 1974 in a small rural community near Vladivostok. He left Russia in 1998 to study in New York on a prestigious scholarship. In 2003 Toroptsov, a consultant to the United Nations, decided to change his profession and follow his long-time passion - photography. In 2008 he was given a solo show at the Maison Europeenne de la Photographie in Paris and at the International Festival Cinema & Costume at the National Centre of Costume, Moulins, France. His work has been exhibited in various group shows in Paris where he now lives.
His photographs tell individual and collective stories of people by posing universal questions concerning contemporary society, and by exploring questions of identity and the permanence of myths.
His most recent series, "The House of Baba Yaga" (2008), shown at Paris Photo in 2008, was made when Toroptsov revisited his family house in a small village in Far Eastern Russia, which brought alive childhood memories such as that of Baba Yaga: 'Baba Yaga is a witch from the Russian fairy tales. She's the eater of children. In Western Europe she is the equivalent of a witch from the Hansel and Gretel Grimm brothers' fairy tale whose shiny house was made of sugar and candy.'
To see more of Yury Toroptsov's work registered on Saatchi Online click here.
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