Photographs by Taras Bychko (Lviv), curated by Pavlo Kovach (Lviv)

The photographs selected for this exhibition were made between 2016 and 2020. Using the interplay of light and shadows, Taras Bychko extracts the city’s rich colors, uncovers hidden details, and documents everyday life.
Every photo in the series has its own unique mood and character. The more one looks at them, the more unified elements one discovers. Out of their ideal or unideal harmony the city’s frantic history emerges.

“For me the basis of street photography is spontaneous intuition, a sense for capturing the interesting, exciting, and unique things that are happening around us.
I am astonished by the widespread opinion that in order to be a street photographer all you need to do is to take your camera and go ‘hunting,’ and that from time to time this method will even allow you to create masterpieces. I find that absurd! Street photography is a profound activity that requires careful forethought as well as great visual and practical experience. What is decisive in this kind of photography is the ability always to respond in timely and proper fashion when luck strikes.
The most difficult thing in a street photographer’s work is to avoid repetition and always to be self-critical. If the critique is justified, it will allow you to evaluate your work soberly, to understand your mistakes and correct them. It is also important not to be guided by anyone’s expectations and to stay true to yourself, to listen to yourself. In my practice I do not draw a line between street photography and documentary photography. I am interested in photography as a whole and don’t want to be imprisoned in any specific genre. I want to photograph life all around me such as it really is.
Right now I feel that I want to give my street photography a more documentary quality. Why? Globally, the trend in street photography has been to create a kind of wow factor. It’s become the photographer’s task to create the most spectacular image possible; to show how intriguingly they can play around with composition, light, etc. But very often there is nothing interesting inside this fancy packaging. I would like for there to be something more behind the beautiful form… That’s why I find it more engaging to work on a specific topic, to study and explore it thoroughly.”