In the «Spirits of Fire» series, Timofey Kolesnikov continues his exploration of human existence and the nature of reality. Following his earlier investigations into faces and bodies — the social and physical dimensions of identity — this project delves deeper, asking: what is a human being made of? What elemental forces shape and inhabit us?

To create this series, Timofey traveled deep into the remote forests of Siberia, living within local communities and taking part in ancient rituals devoted to the spirits of fire. This experience was not documentary but transformative — an encounter with fire as a conscious force and a reflection of humanity’s ability to influence and shape its own reality.

Fire stands as a visual meditation on the element as a living manifestation of awareness. Here, photography becomes a conduit between the material and the immaterial — a space where light, body, and spirit converge, and where the human being and the elemental meet as equals.