Photography
Under Suspicion
2015
Slide projection of 33 frames / series of 33 c-prints, 20x30 cm each, marker
Under Suspicion presents a series of photographic slides of everyday public scenes. Manually rendered pen markings highlight potentially suspicious objects or behaviors. The work was made in 2014-2015 when Kharkiv was shacked by a number of explosions conducted by pro-Russian underground resistance. One of the terracts lead to a loss of 4 lives and injury of 10 people. The work shows the city and inhabitants trough a lens of paranoia related to intensions on how to recognize suspicious targets, whilst simultaneously drawing attention to the resulting shift in the optics of public perception of reality. Although most of bombers were arrested and judged, the city has kept the fear and anxiety related to insecurity of public space. That feeling increased to a highest degree with the beginning full-scale Russian war against Ukraine in 2022 when Kharkiv in particular was attacked by Russian sabotage groups.
Mykola Ridnyi
Installation views:
“Forecast for Yesterday”, Blockhaus DY10, Nantes, 2016. Photo: L'île d'en face
“Photography Today: Distant Realities”, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, 2016. Photo: Mykola Ridnyi
“Facing the Wall”, Labyrinth City Gallery, Lublin, 2018. Photo: Wojciech Pacewicz