Reflections on preserving national memory

• Prize
  Silver in Fine Art/Still Life
• Photographer
  Nataliia Hresko
• Technical Info
  Sony Alpha 6300, Lens 16-50mm
• Photo Date
  2023-2024

This series reflects my thoughts on how we, Ukrainians, preserved our culture during of oppression Soviet=Russia empire. To illustrate this, I chose patterns of folk embroidery from different Ukrainian regions, as elements of my still lifes. During the period when everything national was destroyed, there were still craftsmen who preserved and passed on those skills and knowledge from next generation. Under the prohibitions, some patterns and techniques disappeared, or were changed in order to be saved. Today, those preserved patterns became significant elements of our national identity.

I live and work in Kyiv. Studied in the `Kyiv School of Photography` In a year of learning, I developed expertise and discovered a fascinating world of art photography. I was studying aesthetics and composition under the mentorship of a renowned Ukrainian photographer and art expert - Dimitri Bogachyk. Photography for me is one of the ways of self-expression. It is full of freedom to express, create and inspire. It is as a way to capture a moment, embrace it with my vision and evoke deep emotions in the viewers and allow them to feel the harmony within the scene.