Boris Savelev

A former rocket scientist, Boris Savelev has been documenting Russia through his lens for the last 31 years. His first exhibition in the UK opens 21 April 2009 at the Michael Hoppen gallery, London, where over 30 of his photographs will be on show. His works of elegant observational realism are preoccupied with light and form – a constructivist aesthetic Savelev credits to his 'methodical, scientific background'. Both melancholic and playful, Savelev's photographs capture the social and political upheaval of the former Soviet Union, by 'simply having a gut feeling for that fleeting moment'. Here, he talks us through 10 works from his show source