During Georgs' journey to Siberia in 2019-2020, he was writing a personal diary and reflecting on his thoughts, observations, and the process of making the work "Motherland. Far Beyond the Polar Circle".
It was his journey through the past on the railroad tracks of exile. His destination was Igarka - a town in the Far North of Siberia where his mom was born in 1952, and his grandma spent 15 years in exile. She was deported in 1941 from Latvia.
The book "Motherland. Far Beyond the Polar Circle" became a visual and investigative journey to understand secrets guarded in the past. Using a Soviet-made medium format camera, the Salut, he narrates the story of a town built upon the bones of Soviet prisoners 163 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, where many deportees once lived. Considered enemies of the USSR, many were taken to the Gulags and left to die from cold, starvation, and poverty.
Title: Diary Entries. Motherland. Far Beyond the Polar Circle Published by: Milda Books Design: Georgs Avetisjans Size: 105 x 148.5 mm, 72 pages. Silk-screen printed softcover Language: English Edition: First edition of 250 Release date: 2023
