The 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence is a good reason to rethink the experience of our achievements and defeats, discoveries and disappointments. No great story is created exactly. It is woven from events, each of which plays an important role, each of which must be recorded and preserved, because this is our reality.
In 2021, many books were published that described in detail the history of modern Ukraine, but this book is not one of them. We did not try to make a history textbook or an album of Ukrainian documentary photography. We set ourselves the task of showing the path of independence through the eyes of several generations of talented Ukrainian reporters and documentarians and to make it interesting for a wide range of readers and experts alike. You won't find an exhaustive list of names and historical events here, but the photos collected in the book are not just prints of their time. They are symbols, important historical and cultural baggage that has the power to change public opinion, thereby influencing history. 144 photos from more than 60 photographers - winners of not only Ukrainian but also world competitions, created a unique art publication that captures the latest history of Ukraine and will show it to the world.
Scrolling through the pages of the book-album, everyone will see Ukraine as different and at the same time close: relive the day of proclamation of Independence and adoption of the Constitution, become a participant in protests and revolutions, find themselves at iconic sports competitions and break world records, meet prominent Ukrainians and unknown heroes, will descend into a coal mine and soar on the wings of “Dreams”, witness the fight against environmental disasters, communist idols and the pandemic. It is these photos, sometimes painful and cruel, that are part of the integral process of creating a national identity. They helped make Ukraine stronger.
We do not claim completeness of the picture and encyclopedic objectivity. Photography is subjective, and that's part of its magic. Our experience allowed us to collect disparate photos together and share a view of history through the eyes of Ukrainian documentarians, to show it in the context of world photography. Because history is not what happened, but what remains in our memory. A story without a photograph is just words, and no one believes words in the modern world anymore. Documentarians, if they do not create the history of our independence, then at least help with their work not to mutilate it to those who want to rewrite it.
The working title of the project was “100 Best Documentary Photographs of Independent Ukraine”. But telling the history of the country only through the “best photos” was a utopian idea. According to the idea, the book was to consist of chapters, each of which is dedicated to a certain decade, but then their volume would turn out to be uneven. The period after 2014 occupies almost half of the book. This happened not because some events seemed more important to us than others, but because they were documented in more detail. So they decided to abandon this division and simply arranged the photos in chronological order with brief historical references. But informally, the reader will still notice three eras: the post-Soviet period (1991—2000), the period of stagnation (2000—2012) and the breakthrough (2014—2022).
When we finished the book, we saw how the history of Ukrainian photography is connected with what is happening in the country. Tragic events seem to provoke documentary photography and other forms of art to develop. In eight years, a generation of young authors has grown up thinking with projects, and this has brought Ukrainian documentary photography to the world level. I realized that I had stopped perceiving history as a list of dates, events, and names. Working on the book helped me see how some historical events became the premise of others and how turning points were connected — and visually, too. We are currently working on an English-language version of the album. — Mstislav Chernov
“Independents”- these are political, cultural, sporting events, tragedies, hopes, pride and joy of Ukraine - not just reportage photos, but cultural heritage, the best Ukrainian documentary, which has never been collected under one cover.
“Independents”- this is a large-scale study and preservation of the modern Ukrainian photographic heritage, which should be introduced to the whole world. In addition to the Ukrainian version, the publication is planned in English, and is already printed in the highest printing quality, so it will easily become a desk book for Ukrainian diplomats, cultural figures, politicians, but will also be interesting to every Ukrainian.
“Independents”- this is a unique collection that combines high art photographs of the most famous Ukrainian documentary filmmakers of our time with unknown photos that are not yet familiar to the general audience.
In addition, almost for the first time in recent years, the publication draws attention to the extremely high level of professionalism of Ukrainian documentary filmmakers, who continue to record our story for us every day, despite the risks and obstacles.
Until 1991, it was almost impossible to find street photography. Political life is better documented, but sometimes such pictures are lacking. Due to the lack of photographs, we did not include in the book the monetary reform of 1996, when the new national currency, the hryvnia, was introduced. International sports competitions, at which Ukrainians performed, were also not filmed. That is, these pictures are in agencies and foreign photographers, but they are not from domestic ones. Then Ukrainian photographers survived, and foreign photographers shot only what interested them. An obvious watershed is 2014, after which photographers begin to cover various events and do it each in their own way. The book includes not only the works of famous authors, but also little-known ones. And one of the pictures of the Maidan was taken by a girl not related to photography. — Mykhailo Palinchak
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