art/ research project and a photo book about Ukrainian cemeteries
art/ research project and a photo book about Ukrainian cemeteries
Hello!
We are Sebastian Khartmann and Denis Shcherbak, and we are two Ukrainian photographers currently working on an art/research project on Ukrainian cemeteries. In tree years both of us have visited more than 80 graveyards all over Ukraine, shooting their condition and aesthetics on 35 mm film as well as digital cameras. Due to the specific relations of people to the places of death and burial, mostly formed by "crypto atheistic" soviet point of view, the cemeteries are highly marginalised in cultural and social perspectives so they become places of "cringe", abandoned and "trashy" content. Having love to strange and baroque-ish things, we couldn't stop capturing those till the moment we had enough material to analyse and even share as a reportage project. So we started to dream about a photo book with some research on the history of the specific aesthetics we have discovered.
Hello!
We are Sebastian Khartmann and Denis Shcherbak, and we are two Ukrainian photographers currently working on an art/research project on Ukrainian cemeteries. In tree years both of us have visited more than 80 graveyards all over Ukraine, shooting their condition and aesthetics on 35 mm film as well as digital cameras. Due to the specific relations of people to the places of death and burial, mostly formed by "crypto atheistic" soviet point of view, the cemeteries are highly marginalised in cultural and social perspectives so they become places of "cringe", abandoned and "trashy" content. Having love to strange and baroque-ish things, we couldn't stop capturing those till the moment we had enough material to analyse and even share as a reportage project. So we started to dream about a photo book with some research on the history of the specific aesthetics we have discovered.
TAP ⇲
The cemetery is one of the main topos of human life along with the city square, market, schools, bars, stations, etc… — any functional or recreational place.
But in the Ukrainian culture the cemetery is pushed out of the common attention, people's consciousness and daily life until the painful moment of death and burial of loved ones comes and provokes twice as much traumas, grief, taboo and stigmatization. The cemetery doesn't bare any sight of good memory or love and doesn't have the function of connection the generations.
Abandoned and marginalized appearance of Ukrainian cemeteries is a result of a specific nonofficial taboo upon these places in ifestyle of modern Ukrainian culture. Partly this is a result of "crypto" atheistic soviet point of view on the death and dismission of any "ancestor cults".
The attitude to these places must be changed so that the point of view on life and the relationship between the living and their memories of the dead will alternate too.
The project conducted on private funding of the authors have stopped due to russian's ful-scale war in Ukraine. Bringing new meanings to the "cemetery culture" as the death and burrial suddenly broke in everyday life of almost all Ukrainians. The project received another dimension to work out — war burials.
The cemetery is one of the main topos of human life along with the city square, market, schools, bars, stations, etc… — any functional or recreational place.
But in the Ukrainian culture the cemetery is pushed out of the common attention, people's consciousness and daily life until the painful moment of death and burial of loved ones comes and provokes twice as much traumas, grief, taboo and stigmatization. The cemetery doesn't bare any sight of good memory or love and doesn't have the function of connection the generations.
Abandoned and marginalized appearance of Ukrainian cemeteries is a result of a specific nonofficial taboo upon these places in ifestyle of modern Ukrainian culture. Partly this is a result of "crypto" atheistic soviet point of view on the death and dismission of any "ancestor cults".
The attitude to these places must be changed so that the point of view on life and the relationship between the living and their memories of the dead will alternate too.
The project conducted on private funding of the authors have stopped due to russian's ful-scale war in Ukraine. Bringing new meanings to the "cemetery culture" as the death and burrial suddenly broke in everyday life of almost all Ukrainians. The project received another dimension to work out — war burials.
The cemetery is one of the main topos of human life along with the city square, market, schools, bars, stations, etc… — any functional or recreational place.
But in the Ukrainian culture the cemetery is pushed out of the common attention, people's consciousness and daily life until the painful moment of death and burial of loved ones comes and provokes twice as much traumas, grief, taboo and stigmatization. The cemetery doesn't bare any sight of good memory or love and doesn't have the function of connection the generations.
Abandoned and marginalized appearance of Ukrainian cemeteries is a result of a specific nonofficial taboo upon these places in ifestyle of modern Ukrainian culture. Partly this is a result of "crypto" atheistic soviet point of view on the death and dismission of any "ancestor cults".
The attitude to these places must be changed so that the point of view on life and the relationship between the living and their memories of the dead will alternate too.
The project conducted on private funding of the authors have stopped due to russian's ful-scale war in Ukraine. Bringing new meanings to the "cemetery culture" as the death and burrial suddenly broke in everyday life of almost all Ukrainians. The project received another dimension to work out — war burials.
+9K
photos
35
mm film
<80
cemeteries
TAP ⇲
+9K
selected
photos
35
mm film
<80
cemeteries
+9K
selected
photos
35
mm film
<80
cemeteries
Before the full scale war, the aim of the project was to bring out into the light and popular discourse the cemeteries as they are today by reportage photos. Now we are to share the collection of specific aesthetics that was hidden and under taboo, as well as to start a research about the reasons of the poor state of the memory burial places in Ukraine. Hoping that this will start up changes in popular view of the cemetery.
For that we want to publish a photo book with the pictures we made during our trips with comments on conditions and history of the cemeteries in Ukraine by the tanatologist. As well as interviews with researchers of the design of the burial culture in Ukraine and people working in the sepulture business or religious organisations.
Before the full scale war, the aim of the project was to bring out into the light and popular discourse the cemeteries as they are today by reportage photos. Now we are to share the collection of specific aesthetics that was hidden and under taboo, as well as to start a research about the reasons of the poor state of the memory burial places in Ukraine. Hoping that this will start up changes in popular view of the cemetery.
For that we want to publish a photo book with the pictures we made during our trips with comments on conditions and history of the cemeteries in Ukraine by the tanatologist. As well as interviews with researchers of the design of the burial culture in Ukraine and people working in the sepulture business or religious organisations.
zine
zine
Zine is a way to promote, attract attention and funds to the project. It is to be presented on various zine fairs.
book
The main performative goal of the project is a full-fledged photo book. It would be interesting to urbanists, culture scholars, philosophers, as well as artists or academic students.
Alike collective reportage projects held in Ukraine:
"Balcony Chic" 2023
"Balcony Chic" 2023
Photography book about Ukrainian balconies, with photos by Oleksandr Burlaka.
Study of Soviet monumental mosaics as artefacts of the cultural heritage of the era by Yevgen Nikiforov.
Study of Soviet monumental mosaics as artefacts of the cultural heritage of the era by Yevgen Nikiforov.
