Olha Koval is a new member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers who attracts the attention of the art community with her original approach to contemporary issues. Her project “Eruption” took second place in the competition of the Mykolaiv School of Photography “MYPH” and resonated with the audience and critics. She created more than 40 thousand red-winged beetles, sculpting and painting them by hand. We talked to Olha about the idea of the project, the beetles themselves, photography, and finding herself.
— Olha, first of all, please tell us how you position yourself: are you a photographer, an artist, an artist?
— I am an artist for whom photography is the main tool.
In 2019, after taking a course at MYPH, I began to be more conscious of photography, especially performative photography, where the author can change reality, transforming it to suit his or her own purpose. I was greatly influenced by Roman Pyatkovka's conceptual photography course. At first, I experimented with the form and physical photography, made decorative coloring of the work, but later everything moved to the conceptual plane.
— Why did you turn to photography? What brought you to the MYPH course?
— I have been interested in photography since I was 14 years old, taking pictures of my friends and my everyday life. It was purely for fun and had no deep purpose. After school, I realized that it was time to make a conscious choice.
At that time, I learned about private schools, such as MYPH and Chekachkov's school (the Academy of Contemporary Photography founded by Ihor Chekachkov - ed.) In the end, I decided to go to Serhiy Melnychenko at MYPH. And I have never regretted it, because Serhiy really helped me to define my direction, oriented me in the world of photography. It was important, because I was only 18-19 years old, I had recently graduated from high school and was just beginning to understand what adult life was.
It was thanks to Serhiy that I met Roman Pyatkovka. I have a soft spot for Roma, he is a good teacher and mentor. It was a valuable acquaintance, because there is no universal path in the professions of photographer or artist. Each path is unique, and communication with experienced people helps you find your own.
I was very lucky to meet these people at the age of 19, which gave me confidence and certainty. Moving from Chernihiv to Kyiv only strengthened this feeling, added dynamics to my development and movement forward.
— Tell us more about your project, which won second place in the MYPH competition. What was its idea, what did you put into it? How long have you been working on it, and what does it mean to you?
— I created “Eruption” during this year, working on it for about eight months. All this time I was finishing my studies at the university, so I was sculpting and painting beetles alongside my main activity. The installation took about a week to assemble in the living room of my friend and artist Regina Bukvych. As for the explication, I'm interested in leaving the viewers to interpret what they see for themselves. It makes sense when the viewer finds their own understanding in the work, becoming a co-author.
However, of course, there is also my definition. War creates werewolves: what used to seem normal or safe has now acquired completely different, threatening features. For example, a living room. A safe, protected space, within the limits of modern realities, can kill you by an unfortunate coincidence. The infestation of red bugs in a living room is a metaphor for the highest degree of vulnerability and anxiety. There are tens of thousands of them, they volcano out of the parquet, taking on aggressive forms, occupying the room, settling on books and rummaging through things. This is a natural disaster that devastates everything in its path. The presence of bugs is a forced circumstance with which one must learn to coexist.
The bug itself is called differently in different parts of Ukraine: soldier, fireman, Moskalik bug, Cossack bug. It is a parasite that attracts with its bright color and lives in a group of others like it. The viewer has to determine what kind of insect is in front of him or her on their own, based on their own experience.
“Eruption is the third installation in a series of works about private space during a full-scale invasion.
The first installation was created in Lithuania, at a residency in Klaipeda under the direction of Darius Vaicevauskas. A two-meter stone sculpture in a room that fills all the free space and suffocates with its presence.
The second installation was in my studio, I first reconstructed a part of the living room, and then started painting each object white. And eventually everything became white, everything “disappeared”. And now “Eruption” is the third part of this cycle.
At this time I don't plan to continue making installations and want to do something else. However, these three works together form a kind of triptych that reflects my reflections on the limits of personal space and vulnerability during the war.
— There are a lot of intimate photos on your Instagram, works in the nude style. It also seems that you don't just take pictures, but also paint these pictures. Is this part of a project, a new work, or more of a personal hobby? What is the general idea behind these photos?
— Sometimes I just want to create something casual, aesthetic, and somewhat kitschy. This is something I keep for myself, for pleasure. I personally lack this in my life - lively, sexy, erotic, full of life. That's why I sublimate in this way, creating the reality I want to see.
At the same time, these works have their own dark energy. The form is somewhat similar to the works of the Czech classical photographer Jan Saudek, and the content is similar to the American artist Joel Peter Witkin. I really like this balance between the erotic and the thanatic.
For now, this is a small series of works. Perhaps something bigger will grow out of it.
— What are you working on now? Are there any projects you'd like to talk about? Or maybe there are works you've created before that haven't been mentioned yet?
— I am currently planning to complete a project with 12 images that I worked on as part of a mentoring program from the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. My mentor was a wonderful Ivan Chernichkin, with whom we discussed a lot about this project and the look of the final result, namely the art book.
I would also like to create a trilogy of video art about Ukrainian marginalized (non)cultural figures. “With Love, Koptev was the first film in this future selection. Mikhail Koptev is a marginalized designer from Luhansk, known for his extravagant behavior and trashy fashion shows in Luhansk and now in Kyiv, who organizes the Orchid Theater and calls his models “orchids.” This project was my graduation thesis.
I was assigned by the university to choose and come up with a story for one of the paintings. So I decided without hesitation to film Caravaggio's “The Laying in the Coffin”. Thus, this work combines traditional, large, European art with Ukrainian, small and non-traditional art.
— Do you have any projects other than “MYPH” where you show the theme of war or plan to reflect it? Have you ever wanted to become a documentary photographer and document war?
— I believe that everything created during the war reflects this time in one way or another - our reality, what is happening in the country and in each of our minds. All projects, even the movie “With Love, Koptyev,” somehow “shout” about the war. It is impossible to separate an author from his country.
One of the projects I'm working on now is a series of panoramas, where a single composition is placed throughout the entire medium format film and looks like a jigsaw puzzle consisting of 12 frames. This method of combining the image into one whole composition makes it possible to achieve the “Kulishov effect”: juxtaposing two different narratives to create a meta-narrative, that is, a new meaning. Also, the panorama helps to better highlight the events taking place in Ukraine during the war. The events in my focus can be insignificant, but quite revealing, for example, a gynecological examination of women from a border village.
During the war, a documentary photographer has an important function: to record and accurately convey an event. Sometimes a picture can change or influence important decisions. Or change the attitude of a single person. Perhaps you need to love this reality to imitate it. Still, my personal approach is to create an alternative world. My task is to snatch a particle from the real and transform it into an artistic image. Into a statement.
Olha Koval was born in 2001 in Chernihiv. She currently lives in Kyiv. She started making art in 2019. She is a graduate of the cinematography department at the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Cinematography. In 2019, she completed the third MYPH course taught by Serhiy Melnychenko and a conceptual photography course taught by Roman Pyatkovka in 2020. She is a member of the MYPH team. In 2022, she worked in the creative space Menu Zona Residency, Klaipeda, under the direction of Darius Vaitsekauskas. She became one of the four winners of the European photo contest Fresh Eyes Talent in 2023. She participated in a portfolio revue at the Museum of Photography Winterthur, Switzerland.
Her work “Stone” is kept in the Odesa Art Museum, and three works from different series are in the private collection of Boris Grynyov (Grynyov Art Collection). She isa finalist of the International Women in Photo Association (IWPA) with the project 12 frames.
The photographer's Instagram.
We worked on the material:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Editor-in-chief: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yulia Futey
Website manager: Vladyslav Kukhar
Olha Koval is a new member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers who attracts the attention of the art community with her original approach to contemporary issues. Her project “Eruption” took second place in the competition of the Mykolaiv School of Photography “MYPH” and resonated with the audience and critics. She created more than 40 thousand red-winged beetles, sculpting and painting them by hand. We talked to Olha about the idea of the project, the beetles themselves, photography, and finding herself.
— Olha, first of all, please tell us how you position yourself: are you a photographer, an artist, an artist?
— I am an artist for whom photography is the main tool.
In 2019, after taking a course at MYPH, I began to be more conscious of photography, especially performative photography, where the author can change reality, transforming it to suit his or her own purpose. I was greatly influenced by Roman Pyatkovka's conceptual photography course. At first, I experimented with the form and physical photography, made decorative coloring of the work, but later everything moved to the conceptual plane.
— Why did you turn to photography? What brought you to the MYPH course?
— I have been interested in photography since I was 14 years old, taking pictures of my friends and my everyday life. It was purely for fun and had no deep purpose. After school, I realized that it was time to make a conscious choice.
At that time, I learned about private schools, such as MYPH and Chekachkov's school (the Academy of Contemporary Photography founded by Ihor Chekachkov - ed.) In the end, I decided to go to Serhiy Melnychenko at MYPH. And I have never regretted it, because Serhiy really helped me to define my direction, oriented me in the world of photography. It was important, because I was only 18-19 years old, I had recently graduated from high school and was just beginning to understand what adult life was.
It was thanks to Serhiy that I met Roman Pyatkovka. I have a soft spot for Roma, he is a good teacher and mentor. It was a valuable acquaintance, because there is no universal path in the professions of photographer or artist. Each path is unique, and communication with experienced people helps you find your own.
I was very lucky to meet these people at the age of 19, which gave me confidence and certainty. Moving from Chernihiv to Kyiv only strengthened this feeling, added dynamics to my development and movement forward.
— Tell us more about your project, which won second place in the MYPH competition. What was its idea, what did you put into it? How long have you been working on it, and what does it mean to you?
— I created “Eruption” during this year, working on it for about eight months. All this time I was finishing my studies at the university, so I was sculpting and painting beetles alongside my main activity. The installation took about a week to assemble in the living room of my friend and artist Regina Bukvych. As for the explication, I'm interested in leaving the viewers to interpret what they see for themselves. It makes sense when the viewer finds their own understanding in the work, becoming a co-author.
However, of course, there is also my definition. War creates werewolves: what used to seem normal or safe has now acquired completely different, threatening features. For example, a living room. A safe, protected space, within the limits of modern realities, can kill you by an unfortunate coincidence. The infestation of red bugs in a living room is a metaphor for the highest degree of vulnerability and anxiety. There are tens of thousands of them, they volcano out of the parquet, taking on aggressive forms, occupying the room, settling on books and rummaging through things. This is a natural disaster that devastates everything in its path. The presence of bugs is a forced circumstance with which one must learn to coexist.
The bug itself is called differently in different parts of Ukraine: soldier, fireman, Moskalik bug, Cossack bug. It is a parasite that attracts with its bright color and lives in a group of others like it. The viewer has to determine what kind of insect is in front of him or her on their own, based on their own experience.
“Eruption is the third installation in a series of works about private space during a full-scale invasion.
The first installation was created in Lithuania, at a residency in Klaipeda under the direction of Darius Vaicevauskas. A two-meter stone sculpture in a room that fills all the free space and suffocates with its presence.
The second installation was in my studio, I first reconstructed a part of the living room, and then started painting each object white. And eventually everything became white, everything “disappeared”. And now “Eruption” is the third part of this cycle.
At this time I don't plan to continue making installations and want to do something else. However, these three works together form a kind of triptych that reflects my reflections on the limits of personal space and vulnerability during the war.
— There are a lot of intimate photos on your Instagram, works in the nude style. It also seems that you don't just take pictures, but also paint these pictures. Is this part of a project, a new work, or more of a personal hobby? What is the general idea behind these photos?
— Sometimes I just want to create something casual, aesthetic, and somewhat kitschy. This is something I keep for myself, for pleasure. I personally lack this in my life - lively, sexy, erotic, full of life. That's why I sublimate in this way, creating the reality I want to see.
At the same time, these works have their own dark energy. The form is somewhat similar to the works of the Czech classical photographer Jan Saudek, and the content is similar to the American artist Joel Peter Witkin. I really like this balance between the erotic and the thanatic.
For now, this is a small series of works. Perhaps something bigger will grow out of it.
— What are you working on now? Are there any projects you'd like to talk about? Or maybe there are works you've created before that haven't been mentioned yet?
— I am currently planning to complete a project with 12 images that I worked on as part of a mentoring program from the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. My mentor was a wonderful Ivan Chernichkin, with whom we discussed a lot about this project and the look of the final result, namely the art book.
I would also like to create a trilogy of video art about Ukrainian marginalized (non)cultural figures. “With Love, Koptev was the first film in this future selection. Mikhail Koptev is a marginalized designer from Luhansk, known for his extravagant behavior and trashy fashion shows in Luhansk and now in Kyiv, who organizes the Orchid Theater and calls his models “orchids.” This project was my graduation thesis.
I was assigned by the university to choose and come up with a story for one of the paintings. So I decided without hesitation to film Caravaggio's “The Laying in the Coffin”. Thus, this work combines traditional, large, European art with Ukrainian, small and non-traditional art.
— Do you have any projects other than “MYPH” where you show the theme of war or plan to reflect it? Have you ever wanted to become a documentary photographer and document war?
— I believe that everything created during the war reflects this time in one way or another - our reality, what is happening in the country and in each of our minds. All projects, even the movie “With Love, Koptyev,” somehow “shout” about the war. It is impossible to separate an author from his country.
One of the projects I'm working on now is a series of panoramas, where a single composition is placed throughout the entire medium format film and looks like a jigsaw puzzle consisting of 12 frames. This method of combining the image into one whole composition makes it possible to achieve the “Kulishov effect”: juxtaposing two different narratives to create a meta-narrative, that is, a new meaning. Also, the panorama helps to better highlight the events taking place in Ukraine during the war. The events in my focus can be insignificant, but quite revealing, for example, a gynecological examination of women from a border village.
During the war, a documentary photographer has an important function: to record and accurately convey an event. Sometimes a picture can change or influence important decisions. Or change the attitude of a single person. Perhaps you need to love this reality to imitate it. Still, my personal approach is to create an alternative world. My task is to snatch a particle from the real and transform it into an artistic image. Into a statement.
Olha Koval was born in 2001 in Chernihiv. She currently lives in Kyiv. She started making art in 2019. She is a graduate of the cinematography department at the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Cinematography. In 2019, she completed the third MYPH course taught by Serhiy Melnychenko and a conceptual photography course taught by Roman Pyatkovka in 2020. She is a member of the MYPH team. In 2022, she worked in the creative space Menu Zona Residency, Klaipeda, under the direction of Darius Vaitsekauskas. She became one of the four winners of the European photo contest Fresh Eyes Talent in 2023. She participated in a portfolio revue at the Museum of Photography Winterthur, Switzerland.
Her work “Stone” is kept in the Odesa Art Museum, and three works from different series are in the private collection of Boris Grynyov (Grynyov Art Collection). She isa finalist of the International Women in Photo Association (IWPA) with the project 12 frames.
The photographer's Instagram.
We worked on the material:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Editor-in-chief: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yulia Futey
Website manager: Vladyslav Kukhar
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.
