In recent years, Ukrainian capital Kiev has been thrust into the spotlight thanks to the vibrancy of its youth movement. From its burgeoning rave scene and home-grown fashion talent to the new wave of young creatives saying “F*** you” to the post-Soviet aesthetic and shaping a different future, Kiev is putting itself firmly on the map. Among its most exciting emerging talent is Join the Cool, a collective of photographers (including Kristina Podobed, Daria Svertilova, Genia Volkov and Anastasiya Lazurenko), who seek to explore Ukraine’s unique visual culture through a fresh lens. Their latest project Vinietka, currently on show in London, is a playful reboot of a traditional Ukrainian yearbook.
The subjects of Vinietka may be Ukrainian, but they speak to the teenager in all of us. The collective’s nostalgic images depict a bunch of Kiev youngsters hanging out in a typical school — kissing in the corridors, napping on desks, flirting in the purple light of the prom. Their attire is a mix of dressy tailoring and leather, a punked up version of the school uniform, and an atmosphere of youthful mischief is juxtaposed with the staged, almost official nature of graduation photos.
The concept of the project was borne from the format of the traditional graduation album. “Every single person in Ukraine has a ‘Vinietka””, the Join the Cool photographers explain. “We were really captivated by this phenomenon and wanted to preserve it. These days ‘Vinietka’ have changed and perhaps will soon disappear completely”.
Each member of the Join the Cool shoots in a different style and uses a different camera, making for a variety of styles, textures and perspectives in the project. And the spirit of collaboration and creating a community around their work for them is the key. “When we have a new idea for a project, it magnifies the coolest people, and not only in Ukraine,” the photographers admit. “That’s why we are called Join the Cool. For Vinietka, we collaborated with the most talented people in Ukraine’s art scene: stylist Stas Soulkeeper, make up artist Yulya Zalesskaya, hair stylist Julia Stets and writer Katia Kash”.
The models, too, are the product of a collaboration with Kiev-based alternative modelling agency Cat-b, who pick their models for character and attitude as much as appearance. Mixed in with the photographers’ friends, they make for a perfect gang of too-cool-for-school outsiders who embody the spirit of Join the Cool — at once nostalgic and reflective, but shaping a new future for Kiev creativity. “For us, there are no boundaries in photography, and this is what unites us,” the collective explain. “We know and love classic school photography, but we’re interested in creating a new wave in art and reflect upon the reality that we live in here and now. There’s always an element of performance in our projects, as we’re not documenting reality but reimagining it. We want to channel lightness in our projects, because there is a lot of heavy art around, and life can be heavy.”
Vinietka is on show at Calvet 22 Foundation as part of the New East Photo Prize exhibition until the 2nd of December 2018.
All photographs courtesy of Join the Cool.
