I am presenting a photo essay of sorts. This is a
collection of photographs from my trip to Ukraine in
September 2021, shot on 35mm film. Below are images
of Verdansky National Library of Ukraine. A statement
about these collections and archives are on British Library
blog pages here (British Library, 2022). Inside is an
amazing mural. I was not able to take photos, my
sketches are below. With stunning architecture is also
an atmosphere of study and work and beautiful
typography.
Verdansky National Library of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2021.
Source: Author.
Verdansky National Library of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2021.
Source: Author.
Verdansky National Library of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2021.
Source: Author.
Verdansky National Library of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2021.
Source: Author.
Verdansky National Library of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2021.
Source: Author.
I travelled to Zaporizhzhia in south Ukraine. This was for
a visit to Dnipro-HES power station. I also visited
Sotsgorod, a socialist housing estate in Zaporizhzhia.
Dnipro-HES is a powered by water, a hydro electric
power station. There is a huge dam and on one side a
park dedicated to energy workers. I spent a lot of time
here, and there are beautiful views looking back over
Zaporizhzhia. This is a long Soviet style city all
formed around one 10 km street running through its centre.
I have discovered on Wikipedia Zaporizhzhia is
twinned with Birmingham UK. There are links in how
industrial this city is. There is a celebration of metal workers,
industrialisation and engineering. Russian troops are
now on borders of this city and have attacked
another power station south of Zaporizhzhia. A nuclear
power plant.
Zaporizhzhia Maps, 2021. Source: Author.
Dnipro-HES, 2021. Source: Author.
Park of Energy Workers, Zaporizhzhia, 2021. Source: Author.
Sotsgorod, Zaporizhzhia, 2021. Source: Author.
Sotsgorod, Zaporizhzhia, 2021. Source: Author.
Circus, Zaporizhzhia, 2021. Source: Author.
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine Sketchbooks, 2021. Source: Author.
I got a lot of my travel ideas from Soviet Modernism
(n.d.). This is a fantastic website documenting Soviet
architecture. Other places I explored were Obolon
north of central Kyiv. This is accessible by
metro. Russian forces have reached Obolon. My
photos are of residential architecture, a housing estate
close to Obolon station. I also got references from
Ukrainian Modernism on Instagram (n.d.). This site is by
photographer Dmytro Soloviov. Soloviov has
documented Ukrainian architecture, campaigned for
survival of buildings and is now documenting war
images.
Obolon, Kyiv, 2021. Source: Author.
Obolon, Kyiv, 2021. Source: Author.
References:
Keating, R. (2022) Memory of a nation – the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine [Online]. London: British Library. Available from: <https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2022/03/memory-of-a-nation-the-vernadsky-national-library-of-ukraine.html> [Accessed 12 March 2022].
Glover, S. (n.d.) Soviet Modernism [Online]. Sam Glover. Available from: <https://sovietmodernism.com/> [Accessed 12 March 2022].
Soloviov, D. (n.d.) ukrainianmodernism [Online]. Kyiv: Instagram. Available from: <https://www.instagram.com/ukrainianmodernism/> [Accessed 12 March 2022].
