Maxim Zmeyev was born on 30 March 1987 in Leningrad (Russia). He graduated from the Saint Petersburg College of Tourism and Services and studied journalism at Saint Petersburg State University. Since 2009, he has worked as a photojournalist for regional and international news agencies, including Reuters and AFP. In 2021, he graduated from the Rodchenko School of Photography and Multimedia. He was forced to leave Russia in 2022 due to Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. He currently lives and works in Marseille, France.
His artistic practice explores the intersections between virtual and physical realities, where digital spaces and traditional methodologies converge to question the boundaries of identity, artistic authority and cultural narratives. Working deeply with video games as a creative medium and cultural artefact, he analyses how digital environments reflect and influence contemporary social issues, historical perspectives and personal identities.
His work often involves transforming digital images into physical forms, creating a bridge between the immateriality of virtual worlds and the materiality of traditional photographic processes. This interaction between the digital and the analogue allows him to explore the authenticity and value of visual representations in a world where the boundaries between reality and simulation are becoming increasingly blurred.
Residency project:
Manual 4.10. is a series of in-game photographs, meticulously recreated using the oldest method of photographic printing - heliography - which explores the intersection between virtual and analogue photography. By reinterpreting photography manuals and guides from iconic video games, Maxim Zmeyev revisits the origins of photography and reflects on contemporary issues of authorship, originality and the nature of the photographic medium.