Photography by Petro Chekal

Series: RUKH Paper: Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta Glossy FineArt Paper 315gsm / Hahnemühle Torchon 285 gsm Edition: 1/6 -------------------- The goal of this project is to place movement in dia- logue with photography. By experimenting with the fundamental laws of motion and space (such as bal- ance, imbalance, push, pull, time, rhythm, and fixed point), these images emphasize the spatial and dy- namic nature of movement, manifesting through both the body and the object. The impetus for this synthesis of movement and pho- tography comes from the practices of early 20th-cen- tury Ukrainian theatrical avant-gardists, particularly the expressionist style of actors from the Young Thea- tre and the "Berezil" Theatre. The exercises from the French physical theatre school of Jacques Lecoq serve as the primary inspiration. From the perspective of photography, the intertextual context involves paying attention to the photographic practices of the 19th and 20th centuries, where pioneers like Eadweard Muybridge and Doc Edgerton aimed to explore and classify movement. Although photography constantly deals with motion, capturing it in its entirety is a challenging task. The experiences from photographic and artistic practices allow both the viewer and the photographer (see Roland Barthes' "Camera Lucida") to create a situation where "Movement" becomes a key component of the artwork. In this project, the camera serves as the tool that demonstrates the principle of detachment, enabling the viewer to uncover an inde- scribable space, ‘λήθεια (Greek for "truth"), and touch upon movement. Photography offers a path for the Viewer to engage with Movement. This project emerged from the theatrical courses of the Artistic Association "Khvylia" led by Mykola Naboka. The aim of these courses was to cultivate artistic agency and competence in a new generation of Ukraini- an theater artists, equipping them with tools of physical theater, improvisation skills, and community-building techniques. These courses, along with this photographic docu- mentation, are focused on discovering a new direction in theater and photography, grounded in the philosophy of Ukrainian avant-garde theater and Les Kurbas.