Lada Nakonechna. From the Popular View: Looking through the lilac in the Kyiv Botanical Garden, towards the Dnipro River series. 2012 — present. Transfer print, graphite on paper

Series description

The series reproduces a number of photographs taken from the same spot in the lilac garden of the M. M. Hryshko National Botanical Garden in Kyiv. From here, one gets a picturesque view of the Dnipro River, framed by the golden domes of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and blooming lilacs in April. This view is widely circulated in photos taken by visitors to the garden, on media portals, tourist postcards, and posters.
Nakonechna finds these photographs online, prints them in black and white, and uses pencil to shade in all the light areas of the images. By muting the contrast, she calls into question the role of photography itself—both in mass media and in the context of a unique artistic work, balancing between instant capture and the long process of image-making. The darkened surface challenges the photographic image, which usually conveys a romanticized representation of the city, its history, and potential.