MYPH, a well-known school of conceptual and art photography in the South of Ukraine, was founded Serhiy Melnichenkoin his hometown Nikolaev. The training aims to promote and understand contemporary conceptual and artistic photography among artists. During the full-scale invasion of Russia in our state, Nikolaev photographers took an active volunteer position. Someone joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and some from artistic photography switched to documentary in order to record the consequences of the occupiers' actions. We talk with the founder of MYPH Serhiy Melnychenko about the training of young photographers, their projects, his projects, as well as the impact of the war on photography in Nikolaev — the city that received the status of Hero.
“MYPH — Mykolaiv Young Photography. The abbreviation is consonant with the Ukrainian word “myth”. So the name took root organically. Our photographers often work with themes of mythology.” — begins acquaintance with the school, its founder Sergey Melnychenko. It all started in 2018 with photography courses. Serhiy created a pilot project in order to see the reaction of young authors in Nikolaev. “I wanted to know if there was an interest in conceptual contemporary photography. There were many commercial photographers in the city at that time, but there were no conceptual ones.“,— he recalls.
Since then, thanks to theory and practice, online and offline, and even during a full-scale invasion, Serhiy, together with invited lecturers, shares his artistic and commercial experiences with students.
The authors work with different directions: “We have photojournalists, documentarians, and portraitists, etc. However, the main thing is the artistic direction. During this time, we have formed a powerful community that promotes young authors and assists in expanding the spectrum of both their photographic knowledge and practices, and in finding exhibitions, festivals and fairs“,— Serhiy continues.
The aim of the school is to unite a community of photographers and promote the development of young talents. In particular, one of these methods is grant programs. “We are in the process of receiving a grant to support our community, that is, we allocate five subgrants to create projects in the southern region, reveal the stories of its inhabitants, etc.“.
70% of the projects made by Nikolaev authors concern reflections of war. Sergey believes that real artists cannot be abstracted from those moments and events that take place around.
“These are both self-portraits and storytelling — they are all closely related to the theme of war. Some of the authors stayed in Nikolaev. For example, our student Maria Gorshkova. She worked as a photojournalist in the media and documented a lot of things.”
From October to November 2023, the team implemented the project “Visual History of Nikolaev”. Recall that the city was on the front line for nine months, suffered from shelling, barely escaping occupation. Through art photography and documentary photography, the school's 20 artists have conveyed the mood of the city over the past two years.
Serhiy says that this exhibition captures the impact of the war on Nikolaev and the moral and psychological state of the local population: “The goal, in particular, is to help restore the moral spirit of the local community, as well as, to emphasize the unsurpassed strength and ingenuity of Nikolayevs, which led to the award of Nikolaev the title of “city” Hero.”
In addition to exhibition projects for his students, Sergey continues to implement, in particular, his own ideas. “I don't do documentary photography,” he says, “but I do have a photo series, Tattoos of War. It is more of a conceptual project, but with elements of documentary shooting.” He began to implement this idea in April 2023, shooting on a medium format film camera. Sergey gives his heroes the opportunity to choose the frame that will be directed to them with the help of the projector.
“I ask my heroes to choose the moment that comes to mind first. We expose this frame with the help of the projector. Among the latest works are immigrants from Nikolaev who live in Ivano-Frankivsk. The frame that was projected on them is the destroyed hotel “Ingul”“from Nikolaev. It was one of the first such big hits in our city. That's what stuck in their memory.”
Serhiy has already started work on a new documentary project “Under the Dnieper”, which will include human stories from Nikolaev, Zaporizhia, Cherkassy, Dnipro and their regions, as well as a photobook and video adaptations: “This project will consist of at least 50% documentary. The idea will be implemented with a grant from the Munich Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation as part of the program Alexander Tutsek Photography Grant.
Serhiy is convinced that the level of development of photography in Ukraine is high, but it can be even better: “We continue to actively work and participate in exhibitions and festivals in order to promote Ukrainian photography at home and to represent it to an international audience.”
He admits to keeping a close eye on young authors who were able to reveal themselves during the war.
“Their work is authentic, they are different. The authors were inspired. Students such as Maria Gorshkova and Veronika Mol showed their interesting vision. Among them is our Alexei Charei, who joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and documents the war, directly participating in it,” — says Sergey.
Anyone who wants to become a photographer or those who just want to get acquainted with the art of photographs can find all the necessary information on siteMYPH. The school is constantly working on expanding the curriculum, attracting new lecturers.
“In the future, we are considering launching the course “Documentary Photography”, attracting the best Ukrainian photographers documenting the war,” Serhiy shares his plans.
Currently, the works of the authors of the Mykolaiv School of Photography MYPH can be seen at exhibitions in Lviv(location: Powder Tower, exposition “Subconscious”) and in Stockholm(location: Ukrainian Cultural Center, exposition “One day”).
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
MYPH, a well-known school of conceptual and art photography in the South of Ukraine, was founded Serhiy Melnichenkoin his hometown Nikolaev. The training aims to promote and understand contemporary conceptual and artistic photography among artists. During the full-scale invasion of Russia in our state, Nikolaev photographers took an active volunteer position. Someone joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and some from artistic photography switched to documentary in order to record the consequences of the occupiers' actions. We talk with the founder of MYPH Serhiy Melnychenko about the training of young photographers, their projects, his projects, as well as the impact of the war on photography in Nikolaev — the city that received the status of Hero.
“MYPH — Mykolaiv Young Photography. The abbreviation is consonant with the Ukrainian word “myth”. So the name took root organically. Our photographers often work with themes of mythology.” — begins acquaintance with the school, its founder Sergey Melnychenko. It all started in 2018 with photography courses. Serhiy created a pilot project in order to see the reaction of young authors in Nikolaev. “I wanted to know if there was an interest in conceptual contemporary photography. There were many commercial photographers in the city at that time, but there were no conceptual ones.“,— he recalls.
Since then, thanks to theory and practice, online and offline, and even during a full-scale invasion, Serhiy, together with invited lecturers, shares his artistic and commercial experiences with students.
The authors work with different directions: “We have photojournalists, documentarians, and portraitists, etc. However, the main thing is the artistic direction. During this time, we have formed a powerful community that promotes young authors and assists in expanding the spectrum of both their photographic knowledge and practices, and in finding exhibitions, festivals and fairs“,— Serhiy continues.
The aim of the school is to unite a community of photographers and promote the development of young talents. In particular, one of these methods is grant programs. “We are in the process of receiving a grant to support our community, that is, we allocate five subgrants to create projects in the southern region, reveal the stories of its inhabitants, etc.“.
70% of the projects made by Nikolaev authors concern reflections of war. Sergey believes that real artists cannot be abstracted from those moments and events that take place around.
“These are both self-portraits and storytelling — they are all closely related to the theme of war. Some of the authors stayed in Nikolaev. For example, our student Maria Gorshkova. She worked as a photojournalist in the media and documented a lot of things.”
From October to November 2023, the team implemented the project “Visual History of Nikolaev”. Recall that the city was on the front line for nine months, suffered from shelling, barely escaping occupation. Through art photography and documentary photography, the school's 20 artists have conveyed the mood of the city over the past two years.
Serhiy says that this exhibition captures the impact of the war on Nikolaev and the moral and psychological state of the local population: “The goal, in particular, is to help restore the moral spirit of the local community, as well as, to emphasize the unsurpassed strength and ingenuity of Nikolayevs, which led to the award of Nikolaev the title of “city” Hero.”
In addition to exhibition projects for his students, Sergey continues to implement, in particular, his own ideas. “I don't do documentary photography,” he says, “but I do have a photo series, Tattoos of War. It is more of a conceptual project, but with elements of documentary shooting.” He began to implement this idea in April 2023, shooting on a medium format film camera. Sergey gives his heroes the opportunity to choose the frame that will be directed to them with the help of the projector.
“I ask my heroes to choose the moment that comes to mind first. We expose this frame with the help of the projector. Among the latest works are immigrants from Nikolaev who live in Ivano-Frankivsk. The frame that was projected on them is the destroyed hotel “Ingul”“from Nikolaev. It was one of the first such big hits in our city. That's what stuck in their memory.”
Serhiy has already started work on a new documentary project “Under the Dnieper”, which will include human stories from Nikolaev, Zaporizhia, Cherkassy, Dnipro and their regions, as well as a photobook and video adaptations: “This project will consist of at least 50% documentary. The idea will be implemented with a grant from the Munich Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation as part of the program Alexander Tutsek Photography Grant.
Serhiy is convinced that the level of development of photography in Ukraine is high, but it can be even better: “We continue to actively work and participate in exhibitions and festivals in order to promote Ukrainian photography at home and to represent it to an international audience.”
He admits to keeping a close eye on young authors who were able to reveal themselves during the war.
“Their work is authentic, they are different. The authors were inspired. Students such as Maria Gorshkova and Veronika Mol showed their interesting vision. Among them is our Alexei Charei, who joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and documents the war, directly participating in it,” — says Sergey.
Anyone who wants to become a photographer or those who just want to get acquainted with the art of photographs can find all the necessary information on siteMYPH. The school is constantly working on expanding the curriculum, attracting new lecturers.
“In the future, we are considering launching the course “Documentary Photography”, attracting the best Ukrainian photographers documenting the war,” Serhiy shares his plans.
Currently, the works of the authors of the Mykolaiv School of Photography MYPH can be seen at exhibitions in Lviv(location: Powder Tower, exposition “Subconscious”) and in Stockholm(location: Ukrainian Cultural Center, exposition “One day”).
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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