Two of a kind: the uncanny art of Elena Kholkina’s photography

When photographer Elena Kholkina first looked through her older friend Tatyana Soldatova’s black-and-white photos of her life in the Eighties, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Notwithstanding the thick-framed glasses, permed hair and high-waisted trousers, the subjects in Soldatova’s photos bore an uncanny resemblance to Kholkina’s own friends captured on film in recent years. The composition of the shots and subject matter in images taken by both photographers are strikingly similar. So much so that when Moscow-based Kholkina discovered Soldatova’s photos it felt as if she’d found a kindred spirit who had anticipated the events of her life 20 years ago. A collection of images from both photographers was published last year in a photo book, Did We Ever Meet, to create a project that transcends time, space and and history.