Images and text by Hassan Kurbanbaev

I am an Uzbekistan based photographer, living in Tashkent city.

I was always fascinated by creative ideas, but I did not immediately come to the conclusion that photography would become a means of expression in my job. In general, we have a tragic situation with photography in my country. Photography is not considered a high art. That and very few financial opportunities do not motivate photographers to do something like independent local projects. My relationship with photography was complicated, with breaks and despair.

Then at some magical moment of my life, I realized that photography is something more serious than I thought; it is an amazing world in which I feel free, first of all from my own fears and doubts.

In 2004 I graduated from Tashkent State University of Arts. I am interested in creating local projects that allow answering the questions of identity of a country and revealing the potential of the current cultural landscape of Uzbekistan.

This series of photographs it’s not a particular project, but my long-term research of my country for which I have been travelling for a few years. Some pictures I've commissioned, some of them I am keeping as my personal work. But all these images for me represent a special subject that I called “Portrait of Uzbekistan”. This theme is simple – it is about my country through people and the places. I am full of questions about my identity as a citizen of Uzbekistan, and as a person living in this world. What represents our country today, and who we are as a nation, what unites us and who am I? These are a few questions which I am trying to answer. One of the most inspiring things to me is the diverse communities living in Uzbekistan, a treasure that I want to remember, capture, and share with the world.

More of Hassan Kurbanbaev’s work can be found on his website