Graveyard near Kurchatov, Kazakhstan, 2011 ‘While researching large cities in Russia with a view to starting a photographic project, I came across two smaller towns that had been kept secret: Kurchatov and Priozersk (formerly known as Moscow 10). I was told that these towns were mostly destroyed. As with many secrets in life, this inspired my wish to know more, and I was propelled by that desire as well as an interest in the aesthetics of destruction. This fascination then took me from East Kazakhstan to the desolate Aral Sea’