Snow by Max Sher offers an intimate photographic exploration of Kars, a Turkish city steeped in centuries of complex history. Once the capital of Armenian kingdoms and later a strategic frontier for Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans, and Russians, Kars embodies the cultural and political entanglements of empires.  This journey examines the city’s layered past, from colonial transformations to ethnic migrations, and reflects on shared human experiences beyond borders.  Inspired by Orhan Pamuk’s novel Snow and anchored in Alexander Pushkin’s Journey to Arzrum, the project captures Kars’ snowy landscapes, diverse people, and enduring resilience, resisting Orientalist narratives by revealing its universal connections.

Max Sher is a photographer and visual artist based in Berlin since 2021. Born in St. Petersburg, raised in Siberia and educated in Siberia and France as a linguist, he took up photography in 2006, first as photojournalist, then also as an artist. He is primarily interested in the representation of built environment, architecture, and infrastructure, as well as in investigating local/problematic histories. His work was exhibited as part of solo and group shows at AFF Gallery Berlin, Museum der Trostfrauen (Berlin), Calvert22 Gallery London, Format Festival (UK), Noorderlicht Festival (Netherlands), Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Alexey Shchusev Museum of Architecture, Triumph Gallery, PERMM, Yeltsin Center, among others.