Germany
Magdeburg
2024
43
Russian
English, German
In a nutshell
Sergiy Bratkov (b. 1960) is renowned for his radically unsettling and striking photographs that, beneath their vivid surface, present an unflinching report on societal conditions. Like other members of the “Kharkiv School of Photography,” his work over the past 30 years has focused on social photography. In spring 2022, the Ukrainian artist, who had been living in Moscow since 2004, emigrated to Berlin. His recent work, previously centered on outdated Soviet-era clichés and the brash new capitalism of post-Soviet Ukraine, has now been sharply refocused by the brutal realities of the ongoing war.
In this exhibition, Bratkov presents new cycles of images and videos created since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The once ironic observer has transformed into a reflective analyst, confronting the horrors of war in his former homeland. His new works grapple with this trauma while resisting the pull of hopelessness.
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Contributors
Annegret Laabs
Bio
Annegret Laabs (b. 1967) is a prominent German art historian and director of the Kunstmuseum Magdeburg since 2001. She studied art history, ethnology, and medieval archaeology at the universities of Bamberg and Marburg, earning her doctorate in 1997 with a dissertation on medieval Cistercian imagery. Before her current role, she worked at the State Art Collections in Dresden and curated numerous exhibitions on contemporary art, focusing on 20th and 21st-century movements. Laabs has been influential in promoting artists through solo exhibitions and serves as a lecturer and a board member for several art foundations. In 2024, she was appointed honorary professor of art sciences at the Burg Giebichenstein University.
Sergiy Bratkov
Bio
Sergiy Bratkov (born 1960) is known for his provocative photographs that offer a stark critique of society beneath their vibrant surfaces. Emerging from Kharkiv, Ukraine, he became a key figure in the Kharkiv School of Photography and the Gosprom group in the 1980s. His work spans photography, painting, and installations, often using elements of folk kitsch to create melancholic collages. After emigrating to Berlin in 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bratkov’s recent exhibition, My Brother’s Cats, features new images and videos reflecting on war and social conditions. His approach blends documentary and abstraction, processing trauma while maintaining a critical lens on contemporary life.
