Daybreak, Sunset, Cow Milk (2020)

Overview

The once exemplary livestock and dairy farm in the Altai region is now declining. Milk cows live here. Their whole life passes between the barn and the "maternity ward". Everything here is subordinated to the task of obtaining a useful product. All days at the farm have the same schedule: morning milking, evening milking, “maternity ward”, dairy. The milkmaids arrive early, when it is still dark. People come into the space inhabited by cows, combining animals and mechanisms, creating hybrids of cows with mechanical udders. In the evening, the milkmaids come and milk the cows again. The milk is transported to the dairy section and from there, it leaves the farm. Calves are born in the “maternity ward”, where cows can temporarily return to their natural life. Several women perform these extremely hard and low-paid jobs to keep the barn alive. This is life on a farm.