Mother's Love - The Other Side. Series of photos by Anna Radchenko

Surfing on Web in search of the interesting pictures I've come across this really shocking, but very well done and making you think over a lot, series of photos. It's made by the aspiring Russian photographer, Anna Radchenko, who's currently going to make her personal exhibition in London. Anna is a well-known wedding photographer who also does fascinating portraits and non-standard photo series.
"The Mother's Love" is one of first art series to disclose the difficult and confusing problem of over-controlling or, vice versa, ignorant and neglecting mothers who make psychological traumas to their children and call their hurtful behavior "love". With the help of symbolic tools, Anna Radchenko and her models have managed to clearly show the other side of mothers' love. Here are some of the most striking photos from the series:

So, what's that, love of the mother?

It can be the desire to replay your unhappened life in the life of your child. The girl's become a ballerina because her mother has never had courage to do that. 

The mother can protect your from "this violent world" and she will never let anybody to approach you. She will say you that the world is cruel and you'll be afraid of it constantly. 

The mother will force you to be too timid and shy in order to look better alongside with you. 

The mother will chain you to one place in order you won't explore this world and become independent. 

The mother may manipulate you in order to achieve her goals through you. 

Your mother may require that you will consider her the main person in the world. 

The mother may think of you as of a baby even if you are an adult. 

The mother may be just ignorant and not pay a lot of attention to you. 

Or, the mother may just hate you and think of how to get rid of you.

You can see Anna Radchenko's portfolio here: http://www.mywed.ru/photographer/view/profile/Tabirisk/

Most Shocking Social Advertisement You Have Ever Seen!

As I'm interested in social advertising I always roam on thematic sources in search of some new creations and trends. I've noticed that social ads tend to be more shocking - and this feature is made not without a purpose. If you see the blood, handicapped people who have just lost their hands due to some accident, see some symbols hidden in the intricate graphics of this ad, you will get the idea of the safer behavior quicker than it happens with long texts and slogans preaching of safety, eco-friendliness or social awareness. But some billboards, placards and leaflets look really shocking. You should think twice before showing them to people with fable nerves or to your children. Some of such shocking ads have been forbidden due to cruel images and discreet showing of sufferings. But advertisers insist on the fact that such ads are aimed to teach you a lesson of, for instance, the safer behavior on roads, and they say that if you feel shocked by the graphics and imagery you will quickly memorize the message of this ad.

It's a question of the great controversy, so it's not easy to decide who's right - people who don't like the shocking way to conduct a message or experts who think there is no other way to improve manners and behavior than to startle them.

I have made some short selection of social ads which seem to be quite shocking. Just look at them!

Smoking at the presence of a baby is even worse torture for him.

Are you indifferent?

The desperate outcry "Are you indifferent?" (or Doesn't It Matter?") accompany the whole series of these Russian social advertising billboards. The image of the baby with a cigarette stubbed into its back is really terrible. 

The same "Doesn't it matter?!" ad but here a cigarette is compared with a razor for cutting veins. The message is still very wide-spread: "Smoking is a kind of suicide". 

Mom, why am I an imbecile?

In 8 cases out of 10 the birth of a intelligent-deficient child is the result of alcohol consumption, including low-degree drinks.

The message will become clearer for you if you consider the coloring of the ad. It reminds the color scheme of the infamous cocktail "Jaguar" sold on the territory of Russia, which is very popular among teenagers. 

Rain changes everything. Please, drive to the conditions

When it's raining the bloody streams appear at the boy's face. It's very shocking but nevertheless make drivers slow down. 

The Gas Service 04.

Check the gas! Save your life!

This billboard, placed on the side of the standard multi-storey building has a 3D effect of the same building destroyed by the gas explosion. At the first side, you won't notice that it's just an ad - the effect is very realistic. 

Thousands are held prisoners for their beliefs in places worse than this. 

The social awareness here is a clear image. You walk along the street and see the open hole on the ground. The sight of this man holding a paper with slogan can really startle you but you still can think of many "prisoners of consciousness" kept imprisoned in places worse than the city's drainage system. 

We are tired of warning you.

You have f*cked us out with drunk driving.

The Russian Health Ministry

This message can be interpreted as the last outcry of officials who have to deal with consequences of drunk driving. Bad words are justified in this case, because even shocking images don't have effect on people who like go driving with several shots of vodka in their blood. 

You're probably not expecting a child to run into traffic

The other play with stickers... But as for me, it's not a good idea to place it on the road. If I were driving, I would probably press the brakes and the accident would happen because of this "beneficial" sticker. The one thing seem to be good - it's a whole billboard which tries to make drivers be more attentive and careful. 

Tailgating isn't worth it.

The smacked truck's back and the sedan's front are created by wrinkles on the billboard's surface. I think this ad is good for kinesthetics and it has a realistic full-volume 3D effect of tailgating consequences. 

So, these ads demonstrate a good work of designers, advertisers and copywriters, but some of them seem to be too much even for a great purpose of teaching people how to be more careful. 

Really Strange Social Advertising

I've recently discovered some strange samples of the Russian social advertising. They are about disabled people and that we shouldn't pay attention on their disabilities. Generally, the message is like "OK, we are all different and that's great". Advertisers chose to emphasize this difference via comparing disabled people with some controversial artworks, like Malevich's "Black Square" etc. "Yes, you may not like it but it's still the art".  I think it's not very politically correct, at least. May be, a disabled person may be offended by such a comparison. Advertisers have stepped on the slippery ground, anyway. Let's have a look at what they've done.

Picture - Art

Look at deviations from the norm in the another way. 

Every disabled person can be great. 

 Fruit - Brand

(the text is the same as it is on the previous picture)

Tower - Legend 

The design is quite minimalistic and primitive drawings are in fashion now, but anyway, I think it's a rather bad sample of a social advertising campaign. Yes, "Black Square" is a great masterpiece, Apple Inc. is a great company which has changed our idea of electronic devices and Pisa Tower is the great landmark of this Italian town, but the idea of deficiency compared with "the norm" (a lifelike, realistic picture; a "whole" apple; a straight-standing tower) lies behind this "appreciation of greatness".  "Deviations from the norm" is a bad idea for a slogan, anyway. Who is defining this norm? Especially if we are speaking about people? I believe that many handicapped people really suffer from being "special" and from the constant emphasis on the idea that "they are not like normal people". This advertising campaign may only make things worse. 

But, may be, I'm not right and this idea for ads is really great. What do you think about it, by the way?