“This is my personal hit parade”

At her recent exhibit at Uk­raine’s Academy of Arts, the talented young photo­gra­pher Olena Bozhko pre­sent­ed her calendar 12 Musicians, fea­turing portraits of popular Uk­rainian performers. On the opening day the public could also enjoy other Bozhko’s works: photos of well-known people who today represent the con­tem­porary national culture. Some of them even appeared in last year’s calendar 12 Snaphots.

And now, a new art project, which attracted quite a few cult artists, actors, officials in the sphere of culture, and journalists.

Actor Volodymyr Horiansky, whose wonderful portrait also decorated the photo exhibit, very aptly summarized 12 Musicians: “Working in this genre is very tricky, it is not up to everyone, because a portrait must reflect the subject’s individuality and inner depth. In my opinion, Olena was able to grasp each of her subjects’ individuality. Her photos are permeated with warmth and a kind of pain. Given our current environment, one might probably think that such an exhibit is out of place at the moment. Yet it is enough to gaze into our contemporaries’ inspired faces, to sense the nerve of her works, and her message becomes clear: no, it is not out of place, and the time is ripe! Excellent exhibit!”

The visitors spoke highly of Bozhko’s mastery. Oleksii Horbunov, actor and frontman of the band Grust Pilota (Pilot’s Sadness), said that Bozhko had made such a great photo that he was going to use it on the cover of the band’s new disc, which is about to be released. “It is nice to feel that you share the country with such talented people,” he emphasized.

Painter Borys Yegiazarian is convinced that Bozhko not only takes photos, capturing the moment, but also pe­netrates in the characters’ nature and their inner world through their eyes. And she paints a vivid and true human image, like an easel painter. “I am proud to have been her model,” confessed Yegiazarian. “Normally people sit for me, but this time around I found myself on the other side of the barricades. My portrait by Olena is a masterpiece of photo­graphy! Meanwhile, in the author’s portfolio there are a couple more works which are as strong. I hope that someone will ever have a brainwave and holds a special exhibit of Borys Yegiazarian’s portraits by Olena Bozhko. I vote for!”

By the way, the culprit confessed to us that she had always only made portrait photos, since she finds landscapes, reporting, and other genres of photography simply boring. The idea of making her works into a calendar first arose incidentally, during a conversation with the renowned film producer Oleh Kokhan (another model of Bozhko, by the way): the life is transient, and she wanted to capture popular people, loved by many. “The selection of performers for the ca­lendar is my personal hit parade,” confessed Bozhko. “I like their personalities, and their music appeals to me. And while in 12 Snapshots each month’s portrait was handpicked in accordance with the subject’s character (or so it seemed to me and the designer), this year we were ruled by simple logic: the lightly-dressed models were assigned to the warm season, those in warm coats, to the cold months. Nothing extraordinary.”

However, one fateful coincidence could not but strike the visitors at the exhibit: the February page carries a portrait of Andrii “Kuzma” Kuzmenko of Skria­bin, who tragically died in a car crash on February 2.

The artist shared her plans: she intends to keep up the tradition and make more calendars: “I have a few ideas about portraits of famous athletes, but so far it is just a first draft.”

P.S. The masterminds of the exhibit held a charitable auction. All proceeds from photos and calendars went to volunteer organizations which help the troops and war victims in the east of Ukraine.