Published Book

My Country is Female

What is it to be a Russian woman today? In My Country Is Female, Gouzelle Ishmatova finds the strength of her homeland lies within its women. After moving to Western Europe at age twenty-five, Ishmatova began using photography as a tool to understand the places she left behind. In her decade-long project, her images began to reveal that Russia’s true inner strength revolves around female fortitude. My Country Is Female begins with Ishmatova’s great-grandmother, Kortyi, who was born in 1903 during the reign of Nikolai II. Using images from her family’s own archive, along- side documentary and staged imagery, the series reflects on Russian women of the past and while meditating on their future identities. For Ishmatova, Russia itself is a woman – she is abused, she suffers, she struggles, she forgives, and she never gives up.

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