Image Courtesy of Lesha Berezovskiy.
The young auto-didact photographer Lesha Berezovskiy – who featured in our latest issue, SLEEK 76 FREEDOM – grew up in Donbas, between the rough industrial city of Yenakijeve and the quiet, rural town of Novoaidar. It was here where his grandparents lived and where his mother sent him and his sister as often as possible, in order to protect them from the tough city. There, spending the days hoarding goats and enjoying nature by the Aidar River, Lesha developed his love for nature and learned to appreciate the time and space alone with his thoughts – a characteristic that has been recognisable in his photography from the very beginning, manifesting itself as a very fine sense for the atmosphere surrounding a subject or a situation, bringing his images to life.
When the photographer and his wife Agata woke up on February 24, 2022, they suddenly faced a new reality: the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. What happens to people when their own fate is suddenly determined by world politics?
In photographs and notes, Lesha has been recording his thoughts, featured in SLEEK 76 which will now be available as a photo book titled WE STAY, published by Sturm & Drang in both English and German.
Image Courtesy of Lesha Berezovskiy.
Unfiltered, direct and honest, he describes initial feelings of being overwhelmed, the solidarity of the people on the ground, a cautiously hopeful summer, everyday life in the fall accompanied again by the wailing of sirens, and the first cold and dark winter under Russian attack.
Lesha decided to flee to Kyiv and pursue photography on a professional level. Eager to further evolve his work and define his approach, he started analysing his practice and working on series, constantly in exchange with other photographers – locally as well as internationally – many of whom became his friends.
The images and texts in WE STAY document Lesha’s impressions from this past year – moments, situations and events – told from a very personal perspective. They’re touching, disturbing, poetic and yet always very direct and true to life. They capture the reality of his subjects in a tangible and vivid way, leaving a lasting impression on the viewer. Through a semi-documentary approach, Lesha strives to showcase the beauty in the simple and small things of life, without adding any unnecessary meanings. His natural shyness keeps him estranged from the scene so even portraits of young people don’t look posed.
Through photography, Lesha explores the relationship between humans and nature, particularly the role of human artefacts in the environment. His interest in unkempt and unique surroundings is a reflection of his own introspective nature, as he seeks to understand and appreciate the raw beauty of the world around him.
WE STAY is set to release officially from June 12th, with a launch planned in Zürich for June 9th. Another launch will take place in Berlin later this year.
Image Courtesy of Lesha Berezovskiy.