Born: 1986, Mykolaiv, Ukraine
Profession: Photographer
Lives and works: Mykolaiv, Ukraine
Roots & Giant: A Journey of Self and Collective Identity
“Giant” (2020–2022) and “Roots” (2022–2025) are deeply interconnected projects, where one naturally evolves from the other. Together, they form a continuous exploration of identity—first as an intimate, solitary journey, and later as a collective experience shaped by history, land, and shared memory.
“Giant” emerged in response to the isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project reinterprets myths and archetypes, merging the inner and outer worlds, and exploring the fragility and strength of the self in an altered reality. The body, always naked, represents honesty and openness, stripped of imposed social meanings.
With the onset of full-scale war, “Roots” shifts the focus from the individual to the collective. The isolation of “Giant” is replaced by a deep reconnection with the land and the people. The war awakened an unconscious cultural code, drawing Ukrainians back to their identity, history, and the symbolic power of their roots. The project delves into subconscious spiritual symbols and the unseen forces that shape belonging, transcending national constructs to explore identity through myth and fantasy.
Presenting these projects together is essential because they reflect a transformation—how identity evolves under external pressure. “Giant” explores self-awareness in solitude, while “Roots” shows how that self becomes part of something greater, bound by a shared experience.
Through mythological imagery, symbolic landscapes, and a study of the body as both an individual and communal vessel, “Giant” and “Roots” offer a layered narrative of resilience, self-discovery, and the unbreakable connection between people, land, and memory.
