Alexandra Polina's poignant images deal with prejudices amongst Germany's minorities

These images deal with a social gap created by a prejudiced stigmatised view and use clichéd folkloric settings and common stereotypes to question it. The result is a collage of individual experiences, based on the common social condition of living as a perceived foreigner in Germany combined with still-lifes where everyday life objects are exoticised through the way of staging.

Born in Uzbekistan, Alexandra studied Journalism at the National University of Uzbekistan in Tashkent, and later graduated in 2012 from University of Applied Science in Bielefeld with a major in Art and Design. Currently, she studies MA in Art and Design at the same university.

The main theme of her work has always been concentrated around immigration and identity, especially their social and emotional aspects. Having spent twenty years in her home land, Alexandra moved to Germany, which was a life-changing experience. The personal history and identity of the photographer runs through her work across the fields of staged photography and documentary themes. Alexandra is a finalist of Merck-Preis and a winner of several awards including PhotoVision competition, La Quatrième Image and Photonic Moments award.

If you're intrigued by Alexandra's work, you can see Masks, Myths and Subjects on display at FORMAT, the UK's largest photography festival which this year explores the theme of "habitat". Launching at various venues around Derby from 24 March, and running until 23 April 2017. More details can be found at formatfestival.com.

All images courtesy of FORMAT | Main image: From the series ‘Masks, Myths and Subjects’ © Alexandra Polina