Everytime you meet artistic people who try to convey to others their view of the world during this hard time of ours, you subconsciously grow respectful of their titanic work. Our reality is not too pleasant a sight for an artist’s eyes. Most people are preoccupied with the search for a means of survival and simply do not pay attention to the masterpieces created for them.
Perhaps this is the reason why our writers, artists, sculptors and photographers tend to exhibit their works abroad. As to the creative work of the latter, the phenomenon of the Ukrainian photography school is creeping into the limelight of the world communnity. Serhiy Buslenko, Rivne resident, awarded the special prize of the first international contest held by The Day , is one of Ukraine’s most renowned photoartists.
He is a MeritoriousArtist of the International Photoart Federation, member of the Royal Photography Association of Great Britain, European Union of Professional Photographers. His works were displayed in different countries, and he has only recently returned from Romania. Here, in Bucharest, Serhiy Buslenko’s personal exhibition was held. This is the author’s account of the exhibition.
“The exhibition was quite a success. A total of 70 my works were displayed in the gallery of the Romanian Artists’ Union. Taking into account such a great number of photos, I split the exhibition into a series of cycles. Underwater photograhy, experimental pictures and a series of portraits were shown.
“The exhibition made news in the cultural life of Bucharest. Some 300 people were present at its opening ceremony, including 70 Ambassadors stationed in Romania. The police even had to stop the traffic in the streets on the day of the opening ceremony. Several thousand people visited the exhibition during the five days of the display. For events of this kind, this number is rather impressive. At least Romanian colleagues claimed not to have such an attendance at a photo exhibition for quite a while.
“As to the reasons for the attention to Ukrainian photography in the world, it is, in my opinion, caused by the fact that we have preserved the tradition of black-and- white photography. When photographers worldwide have taken to color photography, the former USSR’s photographers, due to various reasons, carried on making black-and-white photographs, perfecting their techniques.
“And, nowadays, these very pictures have reclaimed their popularity. I try to show a human soul, its emotions in my works. Underwater photography offers a great scope for self-expression. It is a very laborious kind of photography, as one constantly stays in the depth in motion and has to spend a lot of time to catch the perspective granting the feeling of flight and freedom — of all the things connected with the sea.
“ And generally speaking, artistic photography is a blessing, as it gives the opportunity to express oneself, the time, the people around us — so different and so beautiful in their own way. It gives the opportunity to bequeath the generations to come a view of our time. ”
