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Forgotten Victories
Andrey Lomakin
Ten years later I was working as a photographer in a sports magazine. Discussing the selection of shots from yet another championship with the editor, I suggested to put only two images: a set of awards and an athlete twisted in pain who got a serious injury instead of gold medal. I was referring to Cups as empty cans and to medals as a piece of metal junk.
Why should one mangle himself or anyone else for this useless stuff?
The editor – former professional wrestler who had a number of prestigious awards – could not let my comment slide. His face went red, his fists clenched. I thought he was going to beat me up. But he was a wise and a kind man. I wasn’t even fired and in time was forgiven for my indiscretion. A year later the magazine was closed.
Almost 12 pounds of films from those days with thousands of faces, hundreds of competitions and training sessions have become cramped, scratched, dusty negatives in my closet. Countless images of winners and losers, starters and stars: their value was always doubtful to me, as well as the value of sporting achievements.
Career of a sportsman lasts 5–15 years, after that you’re a dusty scratchy negative in a useless archive. Collages from this project are my attempt to give a second chance to both of them.