Ukrainian Photographer

'Labour book. 2014-2015' by Ukrainian photographer Kirill GOLVCHENKO is to be understood as a criticism of the economic situation in his home country. Against the background of the original document of his father, he shows the true situation of pensioners

For 'I've Been Here Once Before', filmmaker David Teboul selected stills from a documentary about Boris MIKHAILOV, which fill books' middle section. Cleverly arranged, the single motifs create the impression of a cinematic sequence as you turn the pages.

The photo book 'Horaivka' by Anatoliy BABIYCHUK is the result of some visits to the small central Ukrainian village. His interest in traditional rituals and work in the fields becomes a prototypical sociogram of a forgotten stretch of land in Europe.

'Istanbul' by Miron ZOWNIR contains b/w pictures taken before and during the coronavirus pandemic. It shows how diverse the realities of life in Turkey's capital are and depicts a social reality that also includes ever-increasing poverty & social taboos.

'Malanka' by Yelena YEMCHUK deals with a folklore ritual celebrated by ethnic Romanians in western Ukraine. She visited the village of Krasnoilsk to photograph the local Malanka. The photo series is personal, feminine, surreal and surrounded by magic.

'The Wedding' by Boris MIKHAILOV contains a photo series of a simulated wedding between two homeless people, in the midst of their own environment. It is bound in imitation of a traditional wedding album, with imitation leather and gold embossed lettering

The volume 'Chronicle' features photos by Sergiy LEBEDYNSKYY & Vladyslav KRASNOSHCHK taken in the Ukraine between 2010 and 2015. The scenes at the front-line Kharkiv, the revolutionary Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk regions determinated the future of Ukraine.

'Kachalka' is the name of a Ukrainian open-air fitness center in Kyiv, which consists of archaic-looking, mostly self-made exercise equipment. Bodybuilders of all ages act as a powerful and ironic visual metaphor for the spirit of optimism of those years.

'Negatives are Stored' by Vladyslav KRASNOSHCHOK is an object of a wooden box with 53 colored reproductions of cabinet portraits and business cards. The originals are from Kharkov, initially the photographer only wanted to save them from their destruction

'Kochetov' by Victor & Sergey KOCHETOV, the b/w photographs taken between 1970 and 2000 are given an ironic twist by their colorization. The tradition of 'Lurik' photography experiences here its aesthetic limits. Book design is made by Ania NALECKA-MILACH