In this collection of works, she looks at a flower as a shape-shifter — a symbol that carries different meanings depending on light, context, and perception.
Flowers appear as emblems of transience, carriers of memory, and witnesses to human presence.
They exist at the edge of life and decay, stillness and motion, fragility and resilience.
Her work is rooted in the emotional resonance of objects and the traces of human experience they hold. Still life, often thought of as static, becomes a space for storytelling. Each arrangement, each subtle gesture, reflects time, memory, and the ways displacement shapes perception; they absorb light, shadow, and movement, transforming under the conditions surrounding them.
Through this series, she explores how familiar forms can evoke unfamiliar emotions, how a single object can carry the weight of absence, longing, or endurance. These works capture fleeting moments where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, where the ephemeral nature of life is observed and honored.
About Dina Belenko
Dina Belenko is a still life photographer whose work explores the emotional and symbolic weight of ordinary objects, examining how mundane things — broken porcelain, scattered leaves, found keepsakes — can hold complex emotions and reflect human experience.
Born in a small town in the Russian Far East, she discovered photography through a simple film camera gifted by her parents. What began as casual snapshots soon evolved into a deeper exploration of visual storytelling. She earned a Master’s degree in Publishing and Editing from the Far Eastern University of Humanities, a background that shaped her approach to composition and narrative photography.
Initially, her work leaned toward playful, whimsical still life, with fairy tales expressed through levitating coffee cups and imaginative arrangements.
However, the political turmoil of 2022 forced her into an abrupt relocation to Los Angeles, a move that transformed both her life and artistic focus. Her work now centers on themes of displacement, homesickness, and adaptation.
Belenko’s photography has been exhibited across Russia, the United States, and Europe. She has authored multiple books on creative still life photography, including Composition as Visual Storytelling (2024).
She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, navigating a new creative landscape while continuing to explore the unseen stories hidden in everyday objects. [Official Website]
