As often is the way in the face of conflict, artists and photographers from Ukraine have seen new levels of awareness since the start of the war. With the recent and still unfolding events within the country sending shockwaves the world over, many global art institutions have taken a newfound interest in artists from the war-torn country, with the likes of Boris Mikhailov, Pavlo Makov, Oleksander Balbyshev and Zhanna Kadryova making headlines around the world. With many of the country’s leading artists now living as refugees, works by this disparate group are now increasingly sought after by collectors of contemporary art and photography.
One of the most famous artists from Ukraine is Roman Pyatkova, a leading contemporary photographer, who is associated with the Kharkiv School of Fine Art. Through his practice, he has documented and explored issues of national identity, collective memory and the changing political landscape of his homeland. Rallying against the censorship of the Soviet state, Pyatkovka frequently risked imprisonment for his incendiary art.
Lot 608, Soviet Photo II, Roman Pyatkovka
From 1926 until 1992, the only magazine available to amateur and professional photographers in the Soviet Union was the state-approved publication, Soviet Photo (Sovetskoe Foto). As a state-run enterprise, the primary purpose of Soviet Photo was to further the Communist ideals of the union. As such, images reproduced in the magazine were tightly regulated and closely surveilled for any perceived transgressions. Pyatkovka’s work, which typically juxtaposes his own often explicit imagery with ‘state-approved’ media, was therefore seen as particularly provocative. For Pyatkovka, however, who has described his work as ‘a breath of fresh air against the oppressive totalitarian state’, the risk of imprisonment was an acceptable price to pay for artistic liberty.
Lot 608, Soviet Photo II, Roman Pyatkovka
In The Art & Design Sale on 25th May, we will be offering 14 limited edition photographs, many of which are signed and numbered, from his best-known and most blistering series, Soviet Photo (2012). This series of images aimed to reimagine and critique his country’s soviet history. Discussing the series, Pyatkovka commented:
"On the one hand, I utilized Communist visual clichés from the magazine, such as a cosmonaut, a tractor driver, a collective farm director, a seamstress, etc. On the other hand, my deliberately simple, amateur-looking pictures of naked women. And these women who stood in lines and hauled around bags full of hard-won groceries, joined us for vodkas and lived in overpopulated communal apartments. But they were also the women we were friends with, the ones we dated, fell in love with, and married. In this sense I juxtaposed ideological glamour with real life."
Lot 614, Soviet Photo II, Roman Pyatkovka
Mentored by pioneering Ukrainian photographer, Boris Mikhailov, Pyatkovka is now recognised as one of the most influential photographers living in Ukraine today. In addition to receiving the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards Conceptual Photographer of the Year title, Pyatkovka has held more than 70 solo and collective exhibitions across the globe.
Estimated to sell for between £400 and £600 apiece, these photographs have been consigned from a Surrey-based collector. To view the full collection, please visit the catalogue for The Art & Design Sale.