author's note

“…since the time I was just a silly and naive tiny teenager, I’ve often repeated to myself a phrase

“Everything in life happens for the first time…”,

so intentionally or not, but for the first volume of "Uncovered" I chose entries from my personal diary, where for the first time I faced and experienced different life situations along with the first emotions, feelings, sexual encounters and first signs of awareness my own homosexuality. As for the first “Uncovered” character, I decided to portray and experience what it is like to be, one of my favorite "sexual male archetypes" that has been a part of American spiritual culture for over 90 years, – a Cowboy or in my interpretation I chose a word "Wrangler". I think this particular experience of being "that guy" just for a couple days of shooting in Joshua Tree, CA in 2017, gave me an appropriate and inalienable confidence with courage which helped me to portray later

all characters of the project “Uncovered”

The clear and right attitude of my first chosen archetype also gave me a strength to defeat a fear I had inside as well as it

helped me to find a freedom with introducing my authentic self to the world,

bare my soul by publishing entries from personal diary since 2000 and

not to be afraid to expose my body

through the view and perspective of artistic photo stories captured by my long time friend and talented photographer Dmitry Bocharov. During the process of creation "Uncovered", I became more self aware and start understanding that all this chain of events which had place in my life it has been a direct consequence of my thoughts, words and actions that inevitably shaped me as the person I am today, an open minded human being who keep experiencing life and not afraid to share my way about it, even though I know, I might simply be judge for that or misunderstood. I remain to stay true to myself to this days

and keep the light inside my heart on,

along with love, kindness and forgiveness both for myself and for others, not matter how hard life sometimes try challenging me or my beliefs.”