The Friday before last The Day’s photo exhibition made its next stop at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station satellite town. The New Day: Light and Shadows exposition has already been appreciated by residents of Enerhodar, Pivdennoukrayinsk, Kuznetsovsk, Netishyn, and another twenty Ukrainian cities.
Having familiarized themselves with the display at the Chornobyl NPS Information Center and Representation, the public immediately defined its favorites, which, incidentally, coincided to a large extent with the jury’s opinion. The preferences list of Slavutych residents (who are experienced art connoisseurs, since guest artists are no rarity in such places) includes Kyiv-based photo correspondent Mykhailo Markiv’s Democracy and Potatoes and Serhiy Kotelnikov’s Funeral Repast: Demographic Echo of the War. A true discussion club emerged around the first photo. First they spoke about the instant so luckily caught and the picture’s philosophical content. Then the discussion switched to their countrymen’s conditions of life and their own attitudes toward political and economic events taking place in Ukraine.
In Slavutych photographs have often caused discussions about the stories they told. Grand Prise winner of 2002, Lviv-based Yevhen Kravs’s Ostap Khmil: Sknyliv, made the spectators recall the events of the last July. The more so that deputy head of the Ukrainian Press Group Valentyn Pustovoit told the audience the history of this photograph. The author saw dead bodies and people crying with pain and fear. Instead of following his human instincts, he conformed to his professional ones. While everybody escaped the scene of the tragedy, he took his camera and moved in the opposite direction.
Slavutych residents repeatedly turned to political photos, evaluating the laconic and at the same time precise manner in which they reflect the essence of the moment. Exhibition visitors spend much time looking at our own Anatoly Medzyk’s photo depicting a dialog between Condoleezza Rice and Carlos Pascual, as well as emotional scenes in the parliament.
However, to avoid subjectivity, we give the floor to the exhibition visitors themselves.
Liudmyla ZAYIKINA, Head of the Slavutych Chornobyl NPS Information Center and Representation:
“The multidimensional exhibition reflects various aspects of Ukraine’s life. We can see politicians’ emotional outbursts, grieve for famous people who have already passed away, and concentrate on the features of these days. The exhibition is characterized by the absence of the staged photos. You can feel that the picture reflects precisely the instant that attracted the photographer’s attention. I liked the great number of black-and-white photos. They attract one’s attention with their laconic quality, harmonious proportions, and contrast, which also helps to perceive their plot more clearly. The story told by every picture depicts the peak moment of a relationship; be it conflict or dialog, it is always a climax. Speaking about the exhibition in general, it is designed so that after examining the photos one immediately wants to look at them again, considering them from a philosophical standpoint. I especially liked Democracy and Potatoes. What attracted my attention was an upturned trident on one of the ballot boxes. It occurred to me that this is in a way an indicator, since in a stable state every symbol firmly stands in its place.”
Leonid POLOZ, deputy economic director, Atomremontservis enterprise:
“Aesthetic pleasure, nostalgia, reminiscences, laughter... Den’/The Day’s photo exhibition is wonderful sensitivity training. Moods change so dramatically from one picture to another that in the final account you feel like you have lived your whole life in a few minutes. I believe such events are very necessary. People have become focused on themselves, they have gotten out of the habit of sincerely sympathizing with somebody else’s problems and taking pride in somebody’s else achievements. Such exhibitions are in themselves medicine for selfishness. They give us an impetus for a more subtle perception of our social processes and viewing ourselves as a part of this society.”
Vira SAVYNUK, music teacher at a nursery school:
“The exhibition is very close to real life; there’s no hypocrisy here, only the truth. Though I must confess that subconsciously I would try to find and view more closely the optimistic photographs. We are all tired of pain, and the life-asserting pictures somehow share their energy with us. I would wish that the next exhibition had more such energy sources. In general, Den’/The Day is doing a wonderful and noble thing. The exhibition tours give us, small city residents, a chance to take a break in our daily routine and view the vortex of the expressive and vivid life in all its displays. For us this is really something to celebrate.”
