Sergei Stroitelev Photography — Bermuda Rectangle
Sergei Stroitelev is a Russian-born freelance photographer and artist based in Berlin. Bermuda Rectangle pairs photographs of the contents of women's handbags in St. Petersburg with each owner's ID photo. It was entered in Playbook's 2025 Photo Competition, “Hidden in Plain Sight.”
Artist statement
Women's handbags have always been a mystery to me. As a kid, I was convinced that my mom had to carry around all sorts of magical items, plus a couple of bricks in case she needed to save the world. As a grown man, I can't say I find purses any less puzzling. So, driven purely by curiosity, I decided to ask some women I know, as well as a few strangers I bumped to on the street, to let me photograph the contents of their bags. I spent the couple of months wandering around my home town St. Petersburg, asking every woman I met to "show me what's in your bag." Some thought I was a mugger, some thought I was insane, and some complied. I also asked these women to let me snap their ID photos. I feel that the combination of each portrait and the subject's personal items gives a striking first impression of who these Russian women are.
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