Honest, unflinching photographs of daily life in Pskov, Russia, captured with just a smartphone

Lying on the outskirts of urbanity, the honest photographs in 'Draft Russia' weave a narrative of human vulnerability, addiction, candour, and pathos. Remarkably, all of his pictures were taken using his iPhone – images he likes to share on his Instagram feed, that has so far attracted over 360,000 followers (at time of writing).

"They are not just 'social photographs', as many people see them," explains Dmitry, "they are my personal encounters and scenes. Every added picture is another chapter in my own history. And when I get asked why I go after 'life’s unpleasant side', and I reply, 'because I am a part of it'."

Dmitry studied at the Faculty of Philology in Moscow and actively wrote for youth magazines and newspapers on a voluntary and part-time basis. He left university after three years to become a full-time reporter and later worked for the Russian weekly newspaper, Argumenty i Facty, where most of his articles were devoted to social issues and youth problems.

His first book, Draft, published in 2018 by Treemedia, documents the true lives of ordinary people from the Russian province.

The exhibition, Draft Russia by Dmitry Markov, will run until 4 June 2019 at agnès b. Galerie Boutique in SoHo, New York. Discover more of his work on Instagram.