A photography show entitled On the Way: from the Carpathians to the Sea of Azov, opened on Nov. 29 at the Foundation for Assistance to Art with the participation of the Embassy of France in Ukraine and the French Cultural Center. It contains interesting works full of positive energy by the French photographer Jean Belondrade and his Ukrainian colleague Ihor Haidai. Haidai is the creator of the photo series Ukrainians: the Start of the Third Millennium and the RAZOM.UA Web site.
The idea to create a series of travel sketches was also his. He and Jean were united by the mutual desire to capture happy moments of people’s lives. “What shall I show you, Ukrainians, which you do not know about your own country?’ wondered the French photographer. “In the endless chase for the unexpected, photo correspondents chiefly hunt for dramatic moments, like extreme poverty and suffering. I decided that showing happy moments instead of life’s adversities would be a better approach. There is nothing naive in not seeing the world pessimistically. I was simply happy. I was fascinated by the interesting and friendly encounters by the side of the road. Ukraine revealed itself to me first of all as a young country that is embroidered with an infinite variety of shades. I did not have to defend anybody, demonstrate anything, but I felt free of stereotypes and open to the novelties of every day.” Responding to a question from journalists about which place he likes most and wants to revisit, he replied with emotion that he wants to go back to the Ukrainian steppe because you can’t see such verdant nature in all of France.
The themes of Belondrade and Haidai’s photos are far from being disconnected from reality. On the contrary, the main characters are ordinary people living in Bukovyna, Subcarpathia, and the Crimea. Their everyday lives, often full of hardship and adversity, serve as the background. The point lies in their perception of life as something precious. Hence their subjects’ joyful, spiritual-looking, and bright faces with deep, kind eyes that gleam with experience. Clearly, this photo show should be called a collective portrait of Ukrainians.
“It used to be that you were considered a professional if you contributed a single exhibition- class photo a year. If you had two or three, you were lucky. Now the trends and general approach to photography have changed. But very often people don’t see real life because of those very changes, for example, because photo correspondents concentrate on the so-called ‘triangle’ — the Presidential Secretariat, the Verkhovna Rada, and Kyiv City Hall. To see it, you have to go outside of Kyiv, at least a few dozen kilometers.”
Vasyl Artiushenko, a long- standing contributor to The Day’s annual photography exhibits, shared his impressions of the show. “Jean and Ihor covered over half of Ukraine, met a lot of people, and processed those impressions with their hearts. Their journey has resulted in an interesting photo exhibit, full of genuine human emotions.”
The show ends on Dec. 18.
