Current Research
Roads and narratives:
This project approaches roads as social phenomenon that offer economic and social opportunities. People travel along roads for work and leisure and each road and each journey can be narrated. In this project I investigate the relationship between roads and narratives.
Long-distance driving:
Much driving in the North happens on winter roads that exist only for a short period of time. These roads are difficult and treacherous, always fluctuating, always changing. This project studies the work of truckers who drive long distances to deliver goods to the northern settlements of Sakha (Yakutiia). I investigate the concept of road as experienced by these road-users. The project focuses on drivers' navigation and driving skills, knowledge of routes, and engagement with the road.
Driving and drifting in urban space:
This project is based on study of driving practices in the city of Yakutsk, north-eastern Siberia. I investigate the spatial concept of road through performance of driving and various practices that road-users employ in the city. The project studies emerging car-cultures in post-socialist environment with its car fetishism and appreciation of speed and mobility. The project focuses on use of cars, street games, racing, and notions of risk. The project discusses the post-Soviet production of space where cars, money, and speed are important elements for expression of individual freedom.
