For the last three years, Toma has turned her lens towards young adults in the periphery of Russia, pointing out how they have been largely insulated from many heavily debated cultural and social issues in contemporary media.

In the periphery that Toma examines, economic and moral ideals are based on the experience of previous generations, almost untouched by the rapid digitalization of information. The main goal for young people here is to survive and escape to a bigger city, whether that means through study, work or luck.

During the making of her photo documentary, the invasion of Ukraine started, resulting in production being halted, and forcing Toma's life to fundamentally change.

Faced with the impossibility of returning home, Toma started using her archive to generate new images through AI. By feeding her own images into MidJourney, Toma has been able to recreate and bring back a familiar yet inaccessible reality. Her AI compositions come to life by mixing several of her own photographs, exploring themes of youth and coming of age within a world she can no longer experience.