‘I’m a student and I’m studying biology’, she said calmly.‘Why biology?’ I asked.‘My teacher at school gave me her interest for biology,’ she said completely lacking in passion and emotion. ‘Do you like it?’‘Yes.’ Kira was my last client in Vienna before returning home. I was tired and nervous at the thought that I wouldContinue reading “Kira Piskernik”
Author Archives: Arnest Makhin
Lea Naumann
‘I was born in Bremen and grew up in the Black Forest. Then I studied nursing, first in Freiburg before moving to Berlin and finishing my studies. For almost two years I worked on an ICU (department that provides intensive care medicine), but I quit my job this year and became a freelancer. Now IContinue reading “Lea Naumann”
Suzana Horvat
‘If you could change something in the past, what would it be?’‘There is a lot… I mean, I’m happy with who I am now, but I would be less traumatized…’ Momentarily she lost her breath and began to cry. The tears were streaming down her cheeks tumbling from her chin onto the jeans. I tookContinue reading “Suzana Horvat”
Adrien
“If you had a billion euros, how would you spend it?”He rubbed his broad forehead and said, “Actually, I have it,” then fell silent.I stared at him, unconvinced. Maybe he had not understood me. I met his eyes and asked again. It was Paris, December 2020. Adrien was a stranger, arriving at my studio forContinue reading “Adrien”
Maksim Bratsun
Although he might deny it, Maksim Bratsun, at thirty-six, is the most enlightened person I know. He is one of those guys who learned how to love not only himself but all that surrounds him. It seems like he awakened and now lives in the moment.Last year, when I interviewed Maksim, he was living inContinue reading “Maksim Bratsun”
Mateja
She came to the village in a dark grey Kia hatchback. Her young Chinese car looked sporty: big rims, low-profile tires, tinted windows, and sharp lines running from front to back, visually lowering it even more.From the balcony of my old limestone house, I watched her approach.She sped over a sandy, stony stretch of roadContinue reading “Mateja”
Sophia
‘Why do you trust me to make your tattoo?’ I asked.‘I appreciate the feeling of the unknown,’ she answered. Sophia, from Nuremberg, Germany, is 24 years old. She came to me as she was: a bit shy, but showing her pleasant smile and impatient blue eyes. Though blessed with a pretty face, she did notContinue reading “Sophia”
Dasha
‘When we were kids, why were you always obliged to work, but I wasn’t?’ I asked my cousin Dasha during the interview.‘Your mother pitied you, but my didn’t.’ Said Dasha. Dasha was born and raised in Molodechno, Belarus. She always was and will be older than me by three years. When we were kids we’veContinue reading “Dasha”
Simona Kust
I’m a guud person,I’m a goud person,I’m a good person, Simona Kust tells herself when she hesitates, whether her words and actions are good. Simona was the second person who participated in my project “Your Story By Me”. It was in Moscow, on the 31st of January 2019. She was 16, lived with her boyfriendContinue reading “Simona Kust”
Anya and Sergey
‘I’m very much afraid of needles,’ Anya said.‘Needles?’ I repeated, unpacking a needle.‘Yes!’ She said and smiled.‘So how do you pass a blood test?’ I was questioning how serious she is.‘This is how: I faint every time.’The way she had answered made me laugh. I looked at Sergey. It seemed she wasn’t joking. His eyesContinue reading “Anya and Sergey”
