De la série « Luriki » (Colored Soviet Portrait), 1971-85. Photographie noir et blanc colorisée à la main, 81 x 61 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov. Collection Pinault. Courtesy Guido Costa Projects, Orlando Photo
De la série « Luriki » (Colored Soviet Portrait), 1971-85. Photographie noir et blanc colorisée à la main, 61 x 81 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov. Collection Pinault. Courtesy Guido Costa Projects, Orlando Photo
De la série « Yesterday’s Sandwich », 1966-68. Tirage chromogène, 30 x 45 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Yesterday’s Sandwich », 1966-68. Tirage chromogène, 30 x 45 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Black Archive », 1968-1979 Photographie noir et blanc, 24 x 18 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Black Archive », 1968-1979 Photographie noir et blanc, 24 x 18 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Viscidity », 1982 Photographie noir et blanc sur papier teintée, crayons de couleurs, 30 x 18 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Dance », 1978 Tirage gélatino-argentique, 16,2 x 24,5 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Dance », 1978 Tirage gélatino-argentique, 16,2 x 24,5 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Red », 1968-75 Tirage chromogène, 45,5 x 30,5cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Tate: Acquis avec l’aide du Art Fund (avec la contribution de la Wolfson Foundation) et Konstantin Grigorishin 2011.
De la série « Red », 1968-75 Tirage chromogène, 45,5 x 30,5cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Tate: Acquis avec l’aide du Art Fund (avec la contribution de la Wolfson Foundation) et Konstantin Grigorishin 2011.
De la série « Red », 1968-75 Tirage chromogène, 45,5 x 30,5cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Tate: Acquis avec l’aide du Art Fund (avec la contribution de la Wolfson Foundation) et Konstantin Grigorishin 2011.
De la série « By the Ground », 1991 Tirage gélatino-argentique, ton sépia, 11,5 x 29,5 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « At Dusk », 1993. Tirage chromogène, 66 x 132,9 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « At Dusk », 1993. Tirage chromogène, 66 x 132,9 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « I am not I », 1992 Tirage argentique, ton sépia, 30 x 20 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Crimean Snobbism », 1982. Tirage argentique, ton sépia, 15 x 20 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Tate: Acquis grâce au financement du Russia and Eastern Europe Acquisitions Committee et du Photography Acquisitions Committee 2016
De la série « Crimean Snobbism », 1982. Tirage argentique, ton sépia, 20 x 15 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Tate: Acquis grâce au financement du Russia and Eastern Europe Acquisitions Committee et du Photography Acquisitions Committee 2016
De la série « Crimean Snobbism », 1982. Tirage argentique, ton sépia, 20 x 15 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Tate: Acquis grâce au financement du Russia and Eastern Europe Acquisitions Committee et du Photography Acquisitions Committee 2016
De la série « Salt Lake », 1986 Tirage chromogène, ton sépia, 75,5 x 104,5 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Salt Lake », 1986 Tirage chromogène, ton sépia, 75,5 x 104,5 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « Tea, Coffee, Cappuccino », 2000-2010 Tirage chromogène, 25,5 x 80 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris
De la série « Tea, Coffee, Cappuccino », 2000-2010 Tirage chromogène, 25,5 x 80 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « The Theater of War, Second Act, Time Out », 2013 Tirage chromogène © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « The Theater of War, Second Act, Time Out », 2013 Tirage chromogène, 130 x 180 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris.
De la série « The Theater of War, Second Act, Time Out », 2013 Tirage chromogène © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris
De la série « Case History », 1997-98 Tirage chromogène, 172 x 119 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris
De la série « Case History », 1997-98 Tirage chromogène © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris
De la série « Diary », 1973-2016 Photographie noir et blanc sur papier teintée, crayons de couleurs, 29,7 x 21 cm © Boris Mikhaïlov, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn Courtesy Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris
Boris Mikhailov
Dear Shaded Viewers,
‘Ukrainian Diary’ is the first major retrospective in France of the Ukrainian artist Boris Mikhailov. He is considered the most influential photographer of his generation. Due to COVID the schedule was pushed back and now the exhibition takes place with the backdrop of the war in Ukraine that was thought to be impossible in the 21st century. It is with sadness that his work is celebrated considering at this time his birthplace, Kharkiv has been totally devastated in the conflict.
For over 30 years, he has explored the position of the individual within the historical mechanisms of public ideology, touching on such subjects as Ukraine under Soviet rule, the living conditions in post-communist Eastern Europe, and the fallen ideals of the Soviet Union. Although deeply rooted in a historical context, Mikhailov’s work also incorporates profoundly engaging and personal narratives of humour, lust, vulnerability, aging, and death.
The exhibition is quite immersive, one section that was deeply disturbing was the section on the homeless that he photographed, actually he paid them to photograph them and often took them home got them bathed and fed. Probably if I put the images in my IG I would be going against community standards. I encourage you to experience them yourself. The hand coloured photographs are a beautiful document of the times.
Mikhailov remains one of the greatest and most celebrated photographic artists of his generation, and the exhibition brings together works from international collections around the world (including Tate in London, and the Pinault collection here in Paris), signifying his central place in contemporary photographic culture. Working equally between documentary, performative and conceptual practices, Mikhailov’s ‘diaries’ of life in Ukraine both before and after the fall of the Soviet regime remind us of the rich history and endless resilience of the Ukrainian people.
The exhibition celebrates the lives of the people who continue to show us the meaning of survival and triumph over adversity through the eyes of one of their most sensitive and original witnesses.
Diane Pernet
A LEGENDARY FIGURE IN FASHION and a pioneer of blogging, Diane is a respected journalist, critic, curator and talent-hunter based in Paris. During her prolific career, she designed her own successful brand in New York, costume designer, photographer, and filmmaker.
