Epitome
Vic Bakin
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always tried to grasp at fleeting moments in time – be it in capturing a portrait of a friend, or photographing somebody I'd seen for the first time. It’s as if I thought that capturing these moments would somehow quell the initial impulse; it never did. I’m always looking for mysterious, mundane moments that speak to human nature. Those are what form my personal diary.
For me, photography is a process of discovery. Each shot leads to the next. I’m constantly looking for beauty, and for a presence when I shoot. Sometimes a miracle happens: you cross a certain membrane – and something suddenly opens up. I learnt that I need to bare my doubts and accept them, to be vulnerable and honest too. I often capture nudity in my work. Meanwhile, I always look for humanity. This is my soul constitution. I don’t think I could enter into the territory of objectification and vulgarity – even if I wanted to. However unconventional, I’ve never considered my work in terms of different series or projects. Instead, I see my images as similar currents of one big flow, their intermingled narratives evolving in different directions.
Vic Bakin (b. 1984) is a self-educated Ukrainian photographer. In Kyiv, the artist explores various local groups – queer and fashion scenes, rave and music culture, and even closed communities like student dormitories. In light of new and evolving local circumstances, Bakin’s focus has since shifted to the subject of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His diaristic personal projects use of analogue photography to probe at questions of identity; with Void, Bakin is currently working on his debut photobook.