Visual Artist | Filmmaker
And where love ends, hate begins.
2011 - ongoing
This photographic series is based on the iconic 19th-century novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoi. Anna’s tragedy, torn between social reputation and burning passion, paints an unrelenting portrait of society, which altered in nuances, is as relevant today as it was at the time it was written. The project captures subtle emotional landscapes that transcend time and explores themes of love, family and societal tensions.
“The destiny of art in our time is to transmit from the realm of reason to the realm of feeling the truth that well-being for men consists in being united together, and to set up, in place of the existing reign of force, that kingdom of God, i.e. of love, which we all recognise to be the highest aim of human life.”
Leo Tolstoy, “What is Art”
“And where love ends, hate begins” is a series of meticulously arranged portraits, combined with poetic landscapes and direct quotes from the epic family novel Anna Karenina by Lev Tolstoy. My long-term project captures psychological subtleties and patterns that transcend time and explores universal themes of love, fate, gender inequalities, societal tensions and the unconscious forces that shape our lives.
Anna’s tragedy of being torn between social prestige and burning passion draws an unforgiving portrait of society that remains relevant today. Each character depicted in this project plays a significant part in setting Anna’s dramatic fate. The series is subdivided into eight parts, akin to the eight parts of the novel.
When I first read the novel in my early twenties, I fell for Anna’s charm. Like many, I misunderstood her tragic story as a fight for romantic love and personal freedom.
Reading and re-reading the book profoundly changed my understanding of its meaning. It became clear to me that the novel’s intention instead is to highlight the value of the ordinary, prosaic love and strong family bonds. The book encompasses life, from birth to death, in subtle nuance and complexity.
Literary professor Gary Saul Morson puts it best: “If the world could write directly, it would write like Tolstoy.”
My images translate the essence of the text and adapt it to a contemporary setting, drawing parallels between past and present.
The carefully composed portraits are staged with attention to the subtle gestures, expressions, and objects that evoke the character’s complexities. Shot on an analogue large format camera, yet edited digitally, this slow and deliberate process mirrors the intense psychological inquiry at the heart of the project.
At the same time, the nature of analogue photography inhibits an element of serendipity. Embracing imperfection, some works are grainy and opaque, adding a painterly quality to their aesthetic.
“A radial system has to be constructed around the photograph so that it may be seen in terms which are simultaneously personal, political, economic, dramatic, everyday and historic.”
John Berger, “About Looking”
Landscape photographs shot on 35mm film surround the portraits with a unique atmosphere. They represent the psychological undercurrents of the novel. These images were collected at different points in time and in various locations around the world. It is impossible to assign a certain place to an image, intentionally framing the landscapes as outside of the realm of time and space.
Selected quotes taken from Anna Karenina give additional context to each character. The written words are machine embroidered onto coarse meshed linen fabric, traditionally used for hand embroidery. Mirroring the gendered needlework assigned to the female characters, yet adapting the work to our present time, where machines have replaced most manual chores.
We now find ourselves at a cultural moment not unlike the novel’s late 19th century setting, marked by fading traditions, technological shifts, and cultural uncertainty.
While society has moved forward since Tolstoy’s masterpiece was written, plenty remains unchanged. Through these lasting elements, we can identify with characters invented over a hundred years ago.
Tolstoy chose to write a family novel as a form of rebellion against the intellectual establishment, with the intention to challenge inauthenticity.
My use of analogue technology to examine a historic piece, might be my quiet rebellion against a culture saturated with artificiality and distraction.
I find both solace and discomfort in the fact that a piece created over a century ago remains this relevant. Has society not progressed as much as we think? Or is what stands the test of time caused by the interconnected nature of humankind?
“With minimalism and psychological precision, Jana attempts to create a dialogue with a society of the past but at the same time she raises questions about the present and the future.”
Mare Spanoudaki, “Preface to the Project's Photobook”