Episode #11: Where I Was Born by Lisa Bukreyeva
In conversation with Lisa, her work and growing up in Ukraine
Today’s episode is a special one. The mission of Project Home is to discover and document what the concept of home means for people, through every form of art. When I saw Lisa’s work for the first time, I was hit by thousands of emotions. I found it real, raw, and honest. There wasn’t anything artificial, no effort to make it look like something else, and I loved it from the beginning. To me, it is a pure joy to present her work along with a short interview. Get a coffee, or a tea, turn off any distractions, and enjoy!
When did you feel it was the right moment to share the story of your birthplace with the world? What emotions surfaced during the creation of "Where I Was Born»?
It still seems to me that Ukraine is not understood by the world, it is a consequence of colonial history, but if you open the map, it is the largest country that is completely within the borders of Europe. But it will continue like this if we do not understand ourselves and do not become visible to ourselves. We as a society need to form our identity and accept our home. I remember how in 2021, when showing solo works in local media, I was often reproached that I shoot and focus only on the imperfect, that I don't shoot some conventionally beautiful places. And I grew up in this imperfect, in the capital, where pensioners sold cigarette butts collected on the streets in three-liter cans near the subway, and I had a dissonance. It seemed that people did not want to accept these places as part of their home. Fortunately, I haven't heard anything like that in the last two years and this is a big step.
Do you believe your sense of home has evolved with time, or does the idea of home stay rooted in early memories?
I never perceived a home as an real estate object, and it so happened that for me the family was always embodied in only two people who did not give me much of a sense of home. Maybe because they never had it themselves. When my mother was young, she could not even imagine that one day she would have at least her own separate room. The context in which I grew up did not allow me to dream about such things. But I was in love with Kyiv from an early age, I was constantly taking "photos" while blinking my eyes, dreaming that one day they would become real and I would be able to re-watch them. This connection with the city was formed very early, and surprisingly consciously. I still perceive Kyiv as my home, such a big neglected house in which there is nothing permanent. A person dear to me recently said: "How different life can be in this city", which is probably why I love it so much.
What was the most challenging or rewarding part of revisiting and photographing the places tied to your origins?
All these places gave me an understanding of what exactly shaped me and how I ended up where I am now. These photos are about my perception of the time and space in which my people live, I live. Some places no longer exist in this form, others will not change for decades, but the environment itself is the main character of this project. To be more precise, the space multiplied by my memories and love. My mother did not have a clear identification, I could not try on the concept of nationality for a long time, and this is symptomatic for many Ukrainians. Although, talking about it is stigmatized in the public space. Therefore, I am grateful to all these places for helping me to understand who I am.
One little break to invite you to follow Lisa’s work and subscribe to Project Home if you haven’t yet. Let’s continue!
Your book captures a very intimate and personal story, talking about identity and belonging. Were there moments when you questioned whether certain memories or places should remain private, or did you feel a need to share them all?
As an artist, I have no right to privacy in my work, at least that's how I see it now. Although, you are right that this is my most personal story. These photos contain more of me than what is shown. Not my thoughts or feelings as in other projects, but me. Sometimes, photographers say to me: "I want to shoot like you", and ask a lot of questions about the technique, the approach to work, but they never ask about me as a person. Photographers are rarely asked about the personal, as if we were created only from images. Maybe that's why it's important for me to put as much of myself into this project as possible. I am not deliberately hiding anything, but it will become obvious only to those who are attentive or to those who ask questions.
Did you discover anything new about yourself or your connection to home while working on this project?
The most difficult thing is to find something new in the fact that you supposedly know the best, if I didn't manage, then we wouldn't be recording this conversation right now. I am glad that I succeeded. I think the most important thing is that I was able to accept that my home is not limited to only good memories. There is a lot of unattractive, incorrect and slapping things here. But I don't always choose to do something better for him, rather than for myself.
If your birthplace had a soundtrack, what song would you play?
It was the sound of a strong wind crashing into various objects: a metal slate, plastic, dry branches of a tree, the wind howling in the windows and driving the waves along the Dnipro river.
If you could carry one item with you everywhere to reconnect with your sense of home, what would it be?
Lemon cake, which was sold in every deli. It is three layers of shortcrust pastry and the same number of layers of protein cream with lemon zest.
I love advice. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to people reading this?
I really don't like giving advice, but I'll try. Respect everything around you, even what doesn't always deserve respect, and make this choice every day.
I’d like to publicly thank Lisa for the time and effort in making the episode happen. Make sure you follow her work via this link.
Also if you’d like to see more episodes with other photographers’ work (or you want to submit yours) feel free to reply directly to this email.
Until the next one,
Much love.
F
amazing!
Very good, I follow Lisa for quite some time and it’s always interesting to know the mindset behind the images.