In this group exhibition, six artists from Ukraine, all of whom still live in the country, explore this question. Using various photo- graphic techniques, they examine what memory, hope, and new begin- nings mean in their current life situation and how one finds one’s place as a person and as an artist in the daily terror of rockets, drones, and occupation. The exhibition made it a priority to only feature artists who still live in their homeland and can therefore contribute their experi- ences in an exemplary way.
Involved artists:
Tania Bakum, Igor Efimov, Bogdan Gulyay, Olia Koval, Veronika Mol, Maks Mokrytskyi
TANIA BAKUM:
Tania Bakum is a multidisciplinary artist from Pereiaslav, Ukraine. She works with photography, performance, textiles, mosaic, and alternative printing methods such ascyanotype on glass. By combining traditional and experimental techniques, she explores themes of trauma, feminism, migration, social taboos, and war. Her works have been exhibited in Poland, Belgium, Slovakia, Italy, Ukraine.
Tania held adegree in economics and has studied at the Kyiv School of Photography (2009) and the AGORA School in Spain. She also completed artist development programs, including SKVOT in Kyiv. In addition to her artistic practice, Tania teaches analog photography and printing in Poland and Ukraine.
IGOR EFIMOV:
Igor Efimov was born in Cherkasy, Ukraine. Has been shooting since 2009, since 2010 – the author of personal and group exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad (Moldova, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, USA), multiple-time winner of photo contests, participant of international programs. Lives and works in Kyiv.
He started with documentary series and street photography, later he added social and art projects to his practice, in which he explored the themes of the relationship between a person and a place, the essence of what it means to be a human. Alongside his documentary work, Igor Efimov photographs people from the perspective of exploring corporeality. His portrait sessions, though not strictly documentary, cannot be fully classified as staged either, as the methods he employs often carry over from documentary photography. He allows situations to unfold freely and aims to reveal the subject psychologically rather than dictate poses or actions. This process is more of a collaboration, in which the emotional states of both sides come through.
BOGDAN GULYAY:
Bogdan Gulyay practices art photography since 2010. He is member of Ukrainian Photography Alternative and Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers.
He works mostly in different analog techniques (classical black and white gelatin silver prints, lith-prints, hand-painted prints etc). His main focus is the work with a subjective photography, studying the phenomenon of memory and its physical and symbolic influence on emotional and historical perception of events and objects, exploring the subjects of human and nature, body and sexuality, examining the city life, reflecting upon the war in Ukraine and its long-term impact.
An important part of his practice is making handmade artbooks of his photo series. It is important for him to make objects with the presence of the “hand of the author”, which are unique and unreproducible.
Exhibited and published in the USA, Great Britain, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Lithuania, Sweden etc. Participant of Fig Bilbao, JustMAD, London Art Fair, Volta Volta Art Fair.
OLIA KOVAL:
Olia Koval is an Ukrainian lens-based artist working with photography, installation and video. She combines analog photography with handmade objects, documenting both installations and fragments of everyday life.
She graduated in 2019 from School of Conceptual Photography MYPH. In 2024 graduated from the Faculty of Cinematography at the KNUTKiT. Shortlist CO Berlin Talent Award 2025.
VERONIKA MOL:
Veronika Mol is a Ukrainian artist working with conceptual and instant photography. She is a member of the Mykolaiv Young Photography collective and the Ukrainian Women Photography Organization. In her projects, she explores themes of memory, the body, and transformation, combining analog photography with archival materials and manual intervention.
MAKS MOKRYTSKYI:
Maks Mokrytskyi is a visual artist from Kropyvnytskyi, living and working in Kyiv. This year, he graduated from the MYPH School of Conceptual and Art Photography. His main medium is analog photography — optical printing, collages, and experimental techniques, all created by hand.