"I wanted to do something different from scratch and open a new page."
Dmitry Oskin is a London-based Photographer and Dancer. The subject of Art has always been of interest to him from a very young age, winning national drawing competitions at ages 14 and 16. Oskin used to work as a stylist and on film and photoshoots in a studio after leaving St.Petersburg in 2009. After studying he started on his new path as a photographer's assistant, who slowly introduced him to the kind of art chat Oskin is working on now.
London was not the first place that Oskin’s passion in art was recognised. Back in Russia, at the age of 14, he won a national Russian drawing competition and the prize was presented to him by the mayor of St Petersburg in the world famous Hermitage Museum. Then, at the age of 16, he won a national award for his artwork, which now hangs in the Duma, a Russian assembly with advisory and legislative functions, in Moscow.
Oskin’s earlier work was heavily focused on fashion photography, which also makes perfect sense once one learns he studied at the London College of Fashion. This fascination with fashion continues to shine through and influence his more recent body of works - in particular two series entitled “Butterflies” and “Illusions” which spotlight the intricacies of taxidermic butterflies and beetles on a magnificent scale.
Even though the works aren’t photographs of women in beautiful dresses and dramatic make-up, the viewer can still feel the same, strong sense of femininity and can imagine playing dress-up in the wings of Oskin’s butterflies and the bold colours and reflectiveness of his beetles armour - they are fashion icons in their own right and Oskin ensures they are seen in their most beautiful selves by utilizing his incredible skills and expert eye. The juxtaposition between the actual tiny size of the bugs and the huge size that Oskin impressively chooses to present them in is really quite striking and an important part of these works.
With the Butterflies, the viewer can see details that they would never normally be able to with the naked eye. They almost feel 3d like you could reach out and touch the fluffiness of the wings - as though they’ve been constructed out of fabric, like they could be delicate ball gown dresses fit for a red carpet.
The Beetles, titled “Illusion”, have been painstakingly placed in post-production to create the look of a high-end brooch or piece of jewellery - its only once the viewer gets closer that they realise that the images are made up of meticulous single exposures of different types of beetles. Dmitry continues to work in his studio, creating more photographic artworks, whilst taking on private and commercial commissions. He has experienced various cultures through travels to South America, South East Asia and islands in the Indian Ocean which have deeply influenced his artistic outlook. He has exhibited internationally and has a number of sold-out exhibitions in his repertoire, along with an impressive private showing room at Photo London at Somerset House in 2021.
EXHIBITIONS