Women’s handbags have always been a mystery to me.
As a kid, I was convinced that my mom and her friends carried around in their bags all sorts of magical items, plus of course a couple of bricks. Mom’s bag was always so heavy. I could not lift it. I thought there was some kind of law that they needed to carry bags like this – in case they needed to save the world or something.
As a grown man, I can’t really say I find handbags and purses any less puzzling.
So, driven by curiosity, I decided to ask a bunch of women I know, as well as a few strangers I bumped into on the street, to let me photograph the contents of their bags.
I spent a couple of months wandering around 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. Pretty predictable reactions, I guess. And yet some agreed.
Those that did agree, I noticed, took great care in helping me to arrange the contents of their bags on a piece of black cloth I carried around in my backpack. Only then would they let me photograph the composition on which we had collaborated.
Some women were actually very surprised by the contents of their own bags. Apparently, they had not themselves looked inside them for quite some time (perhaps for a year or more). This I could see in their eyes, which said, “No, no, that could not be mine.” It was very funny.
Finally, I asked each woman to allow me to snap a picture of their ID photo – from their passport or driver’s license. That was perhaps the hardest part. Some women joked, “Please don’t take out a bank loan using my passport data.” Honestly, as a photographer, I am used to just about any reaction from my subjects, and this was not so bad.
In the end, I feel that the combination of the women’s “official” portrait alongside their personal items gives a striking impression of who these women are. The physical appearance on their ID photo is very formal, and sometimes very unemotional. And that can contrast significantly with the character of each woman that is hidden in her bag.
I am convinced that this series is a perfect reflection of the complex and mysterious character of Russian women.
I have a backpack – it’s not a bag. I am interested in urban exploration. I make my way into abandoned buildings, and wander around looking for traces of former residents. Therefore, I always have durable latex gloves and a large flashlight with me, in case I see an old house somewhere. Well, of course there are finds from such sorties. This time I came across a jar of dried gouache from 1971. My husband grumbles that he will soon kick me out of the house, along with my junk, and yet he made two display racks for my collection. I have signs like “Do not take or lift shells,” pharmacy vials. My favorite is a gas mask for a child from 1960. My backpack also has a lot of things: here is a stick from a lollipop, a soldier token given to me by someone, clay beads, and toys and crafts made by my children. When did it get put in there? I do not remember. Women’s bags are like an abyss, a lot of things sink into them.
Here is everything a woman of my age needs: a pinkish-brown lipstick; a tablet with a portrait of Botticelli – brought to me as a gift from the Vatican; reading glasses; a business card holder; a flashlight. Always at hand and what may be needed for work is: some silver-plated jewelry wire; a hook with which I knit jewelry; pliers; accessories; glue; a sketchbook. My husband was also fond of creativity and made me a silver keychain. Then my husband died, and soon after, his keychain was separated from the keys and fell into a huge snowdrift. I rummaged around in the snow for a long time, nearly cried, but never found it. Then I decided that this means we must say goodbye to the past and live on. And you know, it helped. After three months, the snow melted, I walked past that place, looked down and, oh, my keychain! After that, I got a new car. Miracles happen.
I carry photographs of relatives with me, I like to review them, to help me feel like part of a clan. I also have a scarf, vitamins, a container for contact lenses, hand cream and a syringe in my purse – I often catch cold and rinse out my nose with saline using a syringe. There are no cosmetics, I am somehow not interested in embellishing myself. But here’s what has always been really interesting to me – to see life through the eyes of people with special needs. This is probably why, after university, I went to work in a center for helping people with autism. Every day I accompany one of the students, I go to workshops with this person, I help them to sew, sculpt, draw – that is why I have pencils – and I just watch, to be sure that the student does not harm himself or others. For many people with disabilities, the world seems scary and chaotic, so they need a guide in this world.
A mini-tablet, a business card holder, a fuchsia-colored document pouch so I can find it easily in the bowels of my bag, a passport inside a Chanel cover, phones – I need all of this in order to work. Cosmetics, favorite perfume in an atomizer, a travel bottle, a hairbrush, dental floss, refreshing wipes and spare nylons are also needed, in order to always be fully prepared, because business meetings are often held quite unexpectedly. I should always be ready for business meetings. Imagine you are wearing a skirt, and suddenly you get a run in your nylons? That’s why I have spares. There are not so many women in business, 10 percent versus 90 percent men, and so there is a lot of scrutiny of us, we must always look perfect... The icon of the Mother of God is from Valaam Monastery, where I go every year, and the rosary was given to me by the abbot. But this is very personal, sorry.
I don’t know why, but almost everything in my purse is pink. I actually prefer black. But then it all just came together: I grabbed a pink umbrella because it was sleeting, took pink socks to put on if my feet got wet, and brought a pink sponge with which to wash up glasses at work. In the evening, I went to my friend’s birthday party, so I brought a cosmetic bag and a curling iron, so I could put myself in order after the work day. As to the photograph, what woman doesn’t take a picture of a loved one with her? And I have been carrying around 5 Ukrainian kopecks for a long time. At a shop they gave me 5 Ukrainian kopecks instead of 5 rubles in change. It’s a pity to throw it away.
In these two canvas bags I keep herbs. I stuff them into toys that I sew: fairy-tale animals, forest maidens. I sell toys, postcards, and jewelry online or at fairs. I got these five candles at a recent fair. I decorated my table with them. The six clothespins I used to attach pictures to a string. In general, I earn my living only through creativity, nothing else. For the sake of creativity, in order to devote as much time to it as possible, I even dropped out of the university. I worked hard for several years, studied for a year and a half, and then decided to leave. I came back to university before the New Year, to pick up my documents, and they were having a student carnival. Santa Claus ran up to me, crying out joyfully: “Choose any gift from my bag, but don’t look inside.” I pulled out this lollipop, and have been carrying it around ever since in my bag. These wooden sticks, they were taken from the sea, and I will not part with them, because they are beautiful. Why else!
Blush, a cosmetic brush, eyelash curlers, mascara, an eyebrow brush – this is what I use when I leave home. While I do not have a permanent job, although I am trained as an economist, as my parents wanted me to be, I have not worked a single day in my specialty. I prefer to design books, so now I am a freelancer, a graphic designer. I also collect buttons – there is some sort of magic in them. I believe that finding a button is good luck. I already have several hundred in my collection, including rare ones from military uniforms, and wooden ones from Africa. This is from my grandmother, she collected buttons in a large box, and I, as a little child, always admired them, counted them, threaded them. Now my dearest button is from my grandmother’s coat. She put on this coat when she went out with grandfather, and I dreamed of cutting the button from her coat... My grandparents lived very happily together, raised five children, raised their grandchildren. I have two children, but it did not work out. I divorced my husband.
I always choose large and durable bags so that I can carry all my photo equipment in them; it weighs about 6 kilos. I don’t go anywhere without a camera – that’s just the sort of job it is. Once I was attending my friend’s party in a restaurant, and I was in an evening dress, a thin coat, and carrying a huge bag over my shoulder. At about one o’clock in the morning, the editor called me: “Get immediately to the fire!” And so I rushed off, like I was myself on fire. And you know what, I got a far better buzz from that reporting work than from the party, because the firemen let me in where no one else was allowed, and I took great pictures. No, I like my work, this drive, adrenaline... I also always carry a cosmetic bag with me, because sometimes I cannot get home, and that way I can stay overnight at work or go on a sudden business trip. Therefore, I have everything in a cosmetic bag, including a travel toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. And don’t look at the pink makeup bag. I don’t know why that happened. In my defense, I can say that the back side is black.
My son says, “Mom, you used to have a lot of makeup in your purse, but now it’s all full of medicines.” I have pills and painkillers and stomach pills for any occasion. But how could it be otherwise? My Validol recently came in handy when an employee at our office had heart pains. And the nose drops are for allergies. Different people go back and forth, pass by me, and some shower themselves so abundantly with perfume or cologne that it immediately causes my nose to get stuffed up. And I take a manicure set. Sometimes in the evening there’s nothing to do at night, so I sit and do my nails, although two of my fingers were badly damaged when I was young and working in a factory. But what can you do? I paint them with a neutral color and no one notices my crooked nails. I also began smoking when I was at the factory; it has been more than 40 years. I prefer inexpensive cigarettes, although I have a salary of 14 thousand rubles [about $230 per month]. But with a pension it is not so bad. I generally live well, happily. I live with my adult son. He is a good boy, he doesn’t smoke at all.
The contents of my bag are very unpredictable and can change daily. Sometimes inside you can find very strange objects. A saw, for example, is needed for work throughout the week. We mounted an exhibition in the gallery and we need it to trim the frames. Incidentally, it is a very useful item, you can use it to scare bullies on the street, if it is too late to return home. Joke. Still, there are some girly items – lip gloss, nail polish. Well, there are also some ancient artifacts that I am also seeing for the first time. I don’t know what kind of pill this is or where this small stone is from. But I will not throw it away. First I need to remember why I put it in my bag, and then I will determine these items’ fate. My child is learning English, so sometimes I haul books like this for him. But I like pictures and also learn languages this way.
Probably my bag is not very traditional. I often have lots of artsy things in my bag. Our children’s crafts, sometimes their drawings – this is what children do during some of our classes. There are some female things –scissors, lipstick, but I’m not a big fanatic of cosmetics. Somehow it just turned out that way. Devoting my life to others, I don’t have much time for myself. I carry blood-pressure pills – aging is aging.
Well, everything is simple here. I never liked carrying a wallet. I do not use cash, so coins accumulate in the bottom of my bag, in the bag’s pockets and even inside the lining – something rattles, but you cannot find what exactly. Lighters – these are from when you visit your friends and you accidentally take their lighters – I think this is a very common habit of smokers. But then, when you need it, you can never find one. This is very mysterious. I also have keys for my house, work, and my ex’s apartment; a watch presented to me by someone; and some cosmetic bag, typical for any woman.
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