The well-known MYPH school of conceptual and art photography in southern Ukraine was founded by Serhii Melnichenko in his hometown of Mykolaiv. The program is aimed at promoting and fostering an understanding of contemporary conceptual and fine-art photography among artists. During Russia’s full-scale invasion of our country, Mykolaiv photographers took an active volunteer stance. Some joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while others moved from fine-art photography to documentary work in order to record the consequences of the occupiers’ actions. We speak with MYPH founder Serhii Melnichenko about educating young photographers, their projects, his own projects, and the impact of the war on photography in Mykolaiv—a city that has been awarded the title of Hero City.
Supporting the development of young talent
“MYPH stands for Mykolaiv Young Photography. The abbreviation sounds similar to the Ukrainian word ‘myth,’ so the name took root naturally. Our photographers often work with themes of mythology,” the school’s founder, Serhii Melnichenko, begins his introduction.
It all began in 2018 with photography courses. Serhii created a pilot project to see how young authors in Mykolaiv would respond.
“I wanted to find out whether there was interest specifically in contemporary conceptual photography. At the time, there were many commercial photographers in the city, but hardly any conceptual ones,” he recalls.
Since then—through theory and practice, online and offline, and even during the full-scale invasion—Serhii, together with invited lecturers, has shared his artistic and commercial experience with students.
The authors work across different genres:
“We have photojournalists, documentary photographers, portrait photographers, and others. However, the main focus is fine-art photography. Over this time, we have built a strong community that promotes young authors and helps broaden the range of both their photographic knowledge and practices, as well as supports them in finding exhibitions, festivals, and fairs,” Serhii continues.
The school’s goal is to bring together a community of photographers and support the development of young talent. One such way is through grant programs.
“We’re in the process of receiving a grant to support our community—meaning we will allocate five subgrants to create projects in the southern region, to tell the stories of its residents, and so on.”
Reflections on the war
Seventy percent of the projects created by Mykolaiv authors deal with reflections on the war. Serhii believes that true artists cannot remain detached from the moments and events unfolding around them.
“These include self-portraits and storytelling—everything is closely tied to the theme of war. Some of the authors stayed in Mykolaiv. For example, our student Mariia Horshkova. She worked as a photojournalist in the media and documented so much.”
From October to November 2023, the team carried out the project “A Visual History of Mykolaiv.” As a reminder, for nine months the city stood on the front line, suffering shelling and narrowly avoiding occupation. Using fine-art and documentary photography, 20 artists from the school conveyed the city’s mood over the past two years.
Serhii says the exhibition documents the impact of the war on Mykolaiv and the moral and psychological state of the local population:
“The goal is, in particular, to help restore the morale of the local community and to highlight the extraordinary strength and resourcefulness of Mykolaiv residents, which led to Mykolaiv being awarded the title of ‘Hero City.’”
“War Tattoos”
In addition to exhibition projects for his students, Serhii continues to pursue his own ideas as well.
“I don’t do documentary photography,” he says, “but I have a photo series titled ‘War Tattoos.’ It’s more of a conceptual project, though with elements of documentary shooting.”
He began developing this idea in April 2023, shooting with a medium-format film camera. Serhii gives his subjects the opportunity to choose the frame that will be projected onto them using a projector.
“I ask my subjects to choose the moment that comes to mind first. We project this frame using a projector. In one of the latest works, for instance, the subjects are displaced people from Mykolaiv who now live in Ivano-Frankivsk. The image projected onto them is the ruined Inhul Hotel in Mykolaiv. It was one of the first major hits in our city. It’s something that stayed with them.”
Serhii has already started work on a new documentary project, “Along the Dnipro,” which will include human stories from Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy, Dnipro, and their regions, as well as a photobook and a video component:
“This project will consist of documentary work by at least 50%. The idea will be realized with a grant from the Munich-based Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung foundation under the Alexander Tutsek Photography Grant program.”
War is an opportunity
Serhii is convinced that the level of photographic development in Ukraine is high, yet it can become even stronger:
“We continue to work actively and take part in exhibitions and festivals in order to popularize Ukrainian photography at home and to present it to an international audience.”
He admits he closely follows young authors who have managed to reveal themselves during the war.
“Their work is authentic; it stands out. The authors found inspiration. Students like Mariia Horshkova and Veronika Mol showed an interesting perspective. Among them is also our Oleksii Charei, who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and documents the war while taking part in it directly,” Serhii says.
How to become a photographer?
Anyone who wants to become a photographer, or simply wishes to get to know the art of photography more closely, can find all the necessary information on the MYPH website. The school continuously expands its educational program, bringing in new lecturers.
“In the future, we are considering launching a ‘Documentary Photography’ course, inviting the best Ukrainian photographers who document the war,” Serhii shares his plans.
Currently, works by authors from the Mykolaiv photography school MYPH can be seen at exhibitions in Lviv (location: Porokhova Vezha, the “Subconscious” exhibition) and in Stockholm (location: the Ukrainian Cultural Center, the “One Day” exhibition).
Serhii Melnichenko is a photographer, educator, and founder of the conceptual and art photography school MYPH. He began working with photography in 2009. Over this period, he has taken part in around 200 solo and group exhibitions, fairs, and festivals worldwide. He has organized and curated more than 50 projects and exhibitions featuring works by MYPH students around the world over the past seven years. He is a winner of Ukrainian and international competitions and awards, including the Leica Oskar Barnack Award Newcomer in 2017 (Berlin), “Photographer of the Year” in 2012, 2013, and 2016 (Kyiv, Ukraine), and the “Golden Camera” in 2012 (Kyiv, Ukraine). Finalist Krakow Photomonth, Pinchuk Art Center Prize, Off_Festival Bratislava 2014, DEBUTS 2018, Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award, Batumi Photodays and others.
Participant in Paris Photo, Volta Art Fair, Photo L.A., Photo Basel, Unseen fair. Nominated for the Foam Paul Huf Award in 2020 and 2023. Selected to take part in FUTURES, a European platform for photographers, in 2022. Serhii’s photographs are held in private and public collections in the USA, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, and others. In 2022 and 2023, two series—25 works in total—were added to the permanent collection of the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung foundation. In 2023, he received a one-year scholarship (grant) from the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung foundation to create his own photo project.
Worked on the piece:
Topic researcher, author: Vira Labych
Literary editor: Yuliia Futei
Photo editor: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
