AMATEUR ART PHOTOGRAPHY NOMINEE
Alena Solomonova
My cup of tea
This photo series explores the metaphor of "wearing masks" and the struggle to adapt to various social roles. The title, "My Cup of Tea," is an ironic play on the common phrase "It's not my cup of tea," which is typically used to describe something that doesn’t suit one’s taste or preferences. In contrast, the series title suggests an attempt to define what *is* one’s cup of tea. For someone who is more reserved or introverted, fitting into social roles can feel like a constant effort to find comfort in things that don’t quite fit. The series reflects this ongoing negotiation of identity: trying to balance between what feels genuine and what is expected by the outside world. Each photograph features a faceless figure, dressed in a simple dark coat, whose head is replaced by a different object, emphasizing how introverts often navigate social expectations by assuming roles that feel like external shells—constructed identities that hide their true self. Each object serves as a metaphor for the roles we assume, highlighting how these roles can both protect and confine. It’s an exploration of the quiet struggle of fitting in without losing oneself, and a visual representation of the search for what is genuinely “my cup of tea.”

