Sailboats and Swans

Michal Chelbin (1974)

Portraits of inmates in prisons in Ukraine and Russia with contrasting backgrounds, ages, and relationships in decorated institutional spaces.

Description

Sailboats and Swans by Michal Chelbin, produced between 2008 and 2010 in seven prisons across Ukraine and Russia, presents formally composed portraits of inmates in facilities for men, women, and boys. Created during a period when the legacy of the Soviet Union still shaped institutional life, the work engages with themes of identity, power, and marginalization. Chelbin, already established internationally, turned her lens toward correctional institutions not to document their systems, but to explore the human presence within them. Contrasting with more familiar media portrayals of prisons that emphasize energy and violence, Sailboats and Swans provided a nuanced alternative: portraits that resist reduction to criminality.

Building on her broader interest in subjects from outside the mainstream, Chelbin interrogates vulnerability and judgment through her sitters. The tension between internal complexity and institutional uniformity is heightened by the surreal surroundings: prison interiors adorned with domestic-style wallpapers depicting lakes, swans, and sailboats. These bucolic murals, commonly found in Eastern European homes, offer a jarring counterpoint to the realities of incarceration and anchor the series' title.

Technically speaking, Chelbin used a medium format film camera mounted on a tripod, composing each image in-camera and relying solely on natural light. Her portraits are square-format, richly colored, and minimally edited, emphasizing precision and intentionality. The sitters' direct gazes and staged stillness contribute to what she describes as a form of "assisted reality," a deliberate construction that invites psychological reflection rather than reportage.

Initially praised for its haunting aesthetic and emotional resonance, the project was widely exhibited and collected by major institutions, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and SFMOMA. Critics highlighted its "eerie" juxtaposition of surface beauty and harsh context, which leaves viewers suspended between judgment and recognition—challenged to see not the prisoner, but the person.

Behind the work

Chelbin deliberately avoided asking about her subjects’ crimes until after photographing them—a choice that allowed her to engage with them as individuals rather than inmates.

Oded Plotnizki, Chelbin’s husband and long-time collaborator, was instrumental in navigating the complex logistics of photographing inside prisons—liaising with officials and co-managing the demanding fieldwork alongside Chelbin.

Quotes by the photographer

"I'm not interested in the prison, how the prisoners live or how they are treated per se. My portraits are more about individuals, more about the soul of people. I am looking for universal feelings."

"Again, it’s the contrasts that fascinate me, and this world of prisons is full of them. What does it mean to be locked up and watched all day? Is it a humane act? Can one guess a person’s crime just by looking at their portrait? How can the same human being be both vulnerable and murderous? Do we punish, simply by looking at them? These portraits intend to confuse, to confront the viewer with these difficult questions. I struggle with them myself."

"My aim is to record a scene where there is a mixture of direct information and enigmas and in which there are visual contrasts between young and old, large and small, normal and abnormal… For me, the image is just the tip of the iceberg; it’s the gate to a story waiting to be told."

"I think the camera is just a tool to express what I see in the world. It also gives me strength. In life I am shy and keep to myself, but behind the camera I feel stronger and more confident."

Tags and context

Credits: Alasdair Foster, Talking Pictures (project nomination). Suggest an Edit