Photojournalist and documentary filmmaker Georgy Ivanchenko won the “MYPH PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE 2024” photo contest with a series of pictures called “Warhole”. Created through a doorway, this series offers a different perspective on war, leaving room for imagination and focusing on details. In it, Ivanchenko combined documentary with artistic elements to convey the global context of the war through a limited perspective.
Rethinking
Georgy Ivanchenko admits that the impetus for the creation of the photo series “Warhole” was the talk about disappointment in classical photography, which he had to listen to. “You often hear people say about exhibitions of photographs from the war: “It's the same again, it's not interesting!” It hurts, but truth be told, many exhibitions have really become monotonous, full of raw, informative photography that does not always grip the viewer on an emotional level. And photography should speak not only with facts, but also evoke sensations, conceptual understanding,” Ivanchenko says.
George found inspiration for his technical solution in street culture and hip-hop parties of the 80s and 90s. “I saw pictures of those parties taken through Fish Eye, a wide-angle lens. They conveyed a special effect of presence, and I wondered: why not take off the war in the same way? Why not use this style, but in a different context?”
The solution was found unexpectedly. “A friend of mine from Chisinau sent me photos of an American attaching a door peephole to the camera lens. I looked at it and said, “This is exactly what I was looking for!” I just went to the store and bought a door peephole. It wasn't a perfect scheme — the image wobbled a bit, but the result was worth it.”
Spontaneity of the project
The photo series “Warhole” was created in parallel with the journalist work of Ivanchenko. “I worked on a report near Toretsk, on the road that runs from Konstantinovka to Pokrovsk,” he says. “This was an important route for our troops, which are intensively shelling every day. In parallel, I shot on another camera using a door peephole.”
The idea of the series arose spontaneously, but acquired conceptual content already during the implementation process. “I started shooting at the end of July and finished in August 2024. It was a search for new artistic means to convey the war. I see meaning in this, there is visual beauty, and most importantly, there is semantic load.”
Holistic picture
The process of selecting photos for the series “Warhole” was both technical and intuitive, says Georgy Ivanchenko. “During the shooting, I began to understand the technical nuances: reducing the aperture, you can increase the space in the picture, and when it is enlarged, the frame becomes smaller. But there was always not enough light - we had to either increase the ISO or reduce the shutter speed, and sometimes add a flash for some shots,” the photographer shares.
A particular difficulty, according to him, was working with exposure in conditions of insufficient lighting. “Two or three photos from the series definitely use an extra flash to highlight the details.”
One of the most important photos in the series is the “Sunflowers” shot. “I did it on the road under fire. This road was then used by dozens of cars, although now it is hardly used. I was interested in shooting something conceptual, in the spirit of the pop. It's a different picture that conveys reality in a different way, and I like that.”
The selection process took place quickly and naturally: “I did not know exactly how many frames should be in the series, but several of them immediately seemed obvious. I selected those that were closest in spirit, the strongest, and those that together create a whole picture. The result was ten, and I thought: “Class, no more need.”
One of the shots was a surprise for Ivanchenko — this is a shot with artillery fire near Pokrovsk. “As usual, I was shooting on the main camera, hoping to catch the moment of the explosion. But when I looked at the pictures, this frame failed on the main camera. However, he succeeded on the second camera with the door eye.” The photographer says this shot became special for him precisely because it was random, he did not hope to catch it.
About people and flowers
One of the most emotional pictures in the series by Georgy Ivanchenko is a photo of a man extinguishing a fire in a field. “This is the village of Nova Poltavka, about five or six kilometers from the front line. The wheat field caught fire, probably from a drone. I can't confirm this as a journalist because I didn't see the wreckage, but the locals said so. My colleague and I ran there — three kilometers across the field — because we saw a tractor and farmers trying to put out the fire. They were ordinary workers who saved their field.”
While working on this series, the photojournalist took a different look at natural details.
“I noticed that I like to shoot plants through the doorway. It gives them a new meaning, shows them differently. For example, I have a picture of three trees. At first glance, they are ordinary trees, but when you look at them, they cause some special pleasure. I can't explain it, but it is,” he explains. “The photo with a tree and a burning field is one of my favorite photos. The smoke from the fire rose so high that it slightly blocked the sun, and this created an incredible effect through the door peephole. The light sparkles and the image looks almost divine. I even printed out this photo and gave it to my father.”
The photo with daisies is another important symbol in the series. The picture shows a hangar without a roof, and daisies bloom against its background. “It could just be flowers under the sky, if it weren't for war. War leaves its mark even in the simplest things.”
Ivanchenko also shared a personal story about the photo “Sunflower”. “My father's birthday is October 1, and my mother's is October 3. I decided to print a photo for them and said, “I give flowers!”.
Andy Warhol and “Warhole”
Georgy Ivanchenko unexpectedly chose the name for his series, inspired by a chance meeting. “I was sitting in a coffee shop thinking about what to call my job. It seems to me that shooting through a doorway is rather a fan thing that should not be taken too seriously. I did not take it seriously and still do not. But while I was sitting, a guy in a T-shirt that said “Warhole” walked into the coffee shop. I thought it was a play on words: “war” means war, and “hole” is the hole through which we look at war. But there was also the name “Andy” on the T-shirt, which immediately made me think of Andy Warhol.
Thus, Warhol, known for popularizing simple things and making them a cult in art, became for the photographer the perfect inspiration for the title of the series. “Andy made art out of banal things, turning them into something cult. I thought it was the perfect title for a series that uses a post-op approach to highlight the war.” Ivanchenko, despite his self-irony, is aware of the ambiguity of this approach. “I can condemn this approach, but it allows us to present the message of war in a different way, not thoughtlessly, but with a new perspective. It was an experiment and I don't know how exactly I relate to it, but I do know one thing: visually I like it. This series came about in parallel with my main job as a photojournalist, and I was wondering how people would react to it.”
“Is this my first job in the party? Yes, absolutely the first,” Ivanchenko says. Regarding plans for the future, he says that he does not yet have a clear vision: “Maybe I will continue shooting with a door eye and develop the series into a project or even make a mini-book. But I'm not sure if I should go that route. I'm tempted to explore new approaches.”
The photographer emphasizes that spontaneity is more important to him than conceptual work. “I don't plan in advance what I'm going to shoot. I react to what I see in the moment, just as I do in reportage photography. Artists intervene in the frame, create a concept, but it's not close to me. I'm a reporter, I travel and I film the war.”
Georgy Ivanchenko — Ukrainian photographer, who since February 2022 works as a freelance reporter in the field of documentary and journalistic photography. From the first months of the invasion, he began filming for the Associated Press and the European Pressphoto Agency. Starting from Borodyan, where George was born, he continued with the front line: Nikolaev region, Kharkiv region, Kherson region. Now his attention is focused on the Donetsk region. The turning point in his photography was almost a month spent in Bakhmut. Throughout December and January, he documented the lives of the townspeople, carrying a backpack and sleeping bag, sharing life with local volunteers, medics, military, and firefighters in the basements. In April 2023, while working on material about Chasiv Yar, his car was shot and destroyed by a Russian shell. Despite this, the author continues to reflect on the numerous situations that have happened on his way and is working on the creation of his first project “Way of War” (working title). Instagramphotographer.
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Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vera Labych
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