Validity Period
Roman Butym & Pavlo Kyryk (UA)
05/07 – 27/07/2024
“Validity Period” is a photo project implemented in June-August 2021 in the city of Krakow, Poland. Over three months, the authors visited local municipal waste points. This project addresses current issues of ecology, overproduction, and materialism. Items that were once valued and served generations have been replaced by the era of “disposable consumption”. Using discarded objects, the authors created installations intended to evoke the atmosphere of home life. Since garbage is often associated with something dirty and repulsive, the emergence of such mock comfort immediately attracted the attention of random passersby. Each shoot turned into a performance: some watched with interest and took photos, while others laughed, and a few threatened to call the police. However, the majority pretended not to notice anything. The project was nominated in the 8th edition of the Fine Art Photography Awards (London, 2021). The exhibition space is a metaphor for the future, where climate change has already become a reality, and environmental pollution has fundamentally altered the familiar landscape. The home has become a place of nostalgia for nature, and artifacts such as dried wildflowers or seeds have become valuable collectible items.
Roman Butym is a Ukrainian photographer living in Krakow, Poland. Roman engages in artistic, advertising, and reportage photography. His works have been published on the Instagram of World Press Photo, and in the online magazines Photo Vogue Italia and The Eye of Photography Magazine.
Pavlo Kyryk is a Ukrainian writer and graphic artist living in Krakow, Poland. He is a laureate of the Krakow City Artist Scholarship 2024 and the Smoloskyp Publishing House Literary Contest (Kyiv, 2016). He collaborated with the National Museum in Krakow, working in post-production in the digitization department.
Photo: roman Butym, Ieva Viese and Lidija Zaneripa
Roman Butym & Pavlo Kyryk (UA)
05/07 – 27/07/2024
“Validity Period” is a photo project implemented in June-August 2021 in the city of Krakow, Poland. Over three months, the authors visited local municipal waste points. This project addresses current issues of ecology, overproduction, and materialism. Items that were once valued and served generations have been replaced by the era of “disposable consumption”. Using discarded objects, the authors created installations intended to evoke the atmosphere of home life. Since garbage is often associated with something dirty and repulsive, the emergence of such mock comfort immediately attracted the attention of random passersby. Each shoot turned into a performance: some watched with interest and took photos, while others laughed, and a few threatened to call the police. However, the majority pretended not to notice anything. The project was nominated in the 8th edition of the Fine Art Photography Awards (London, 2021). The exhibition space is a metaphor for the future, where climate change has already become a reality, and environmental pollution has fundamentally altered the familiar landscape. The home has become a place of nostalgia for nature, and artifacts such as dried wildflowers or seeds have become valuable collectible items.
Roman Butym is a Ukrainian photographer living in Krakow, Poland. Roman engages in artistic, advertising, and reportage photography. His works have been published on the Instagram of World Press Photo, and in the online magazines Photo Vogue Italia and The Eye of Photography Magazine.
Pavlo Kyryk is a Ukrainian writer and graphic artist living in Krakow, Poland. He is a laureate of the Krakow City Artist Scholarship 2024 and the Smoloskyp Publishing House Literary Contest (Kyiv, 2016). He collaborated with the National Museum in Krakow, working in post-production in the digitization department.
Photo: roman Butym, Ieva Viese and Lidija Zaneripa