TEM galerij, Noordelijke Hogeschool te Leeuwarden

7 september tot en met 26 oktober

Ma-Vr 9:00 – 17:00 uur

8913 HB Tesselschadestraat 12

Up until 1991, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Russians from across the republic immigrated to the Ukraine to mine coal and harvest corn. The declaration of independence in August 1991 entailed great upheaval in matters of politics and economics. The direction the country will take is still not apparent. Historically, the western part of the country has always turned to Western Europe, while the East looks to Russia. Will a republic in the Western sense come into being here, or does the country have its own unique identity? Can the inhabitants of the Ukraine form a community where they all feel at home? Ukraine is a republic on the move, a society in the making.

In 2006 and 2007, the photographers Nico Roodhart, Jack van Gool and Pascal van Heesch recorded the diversity of the country, each in their own way. They take the viewer along with them on a journey through the Ukraine, from the bathing resorts in the Crimea to the mineworkers in Donetsk. From newly married couples to pensioners protesting at city hall about the umpteenth injustice perpetrated against them. From the sinister remains of Chernobyl to the modern streets of Kiev, a couple of hours drive away. The photos show a different community from the utopia envisaged by the communist revolution.

The photographers are associated with photography collective Kamerata.

Pascal van Heesch (1969) Pascal van Heesch has specialised in social documentaries recording everyday life. In 2008, his first book was published, "Mineros de Bolivia". His latest exhibition forms part of the Muestra Documentales y Fotografias de América Latina de Albacete 2008. He regularly exhibits and publishes his work. Pascal was nominated for the prestigious English BJP endframe award in 2004.

Nico Roodhart (1939) as a freelance documentary photographer, has particularly focussed on the portrayal of people in their own environment. He is co-author of the photo books, "Van onderen" (From Below), "Lag Amsterdam maar in Groningen" (If Only Amsterdam was in Groningen), "Van Sappemeer tot nieuw Amsterdam" (From Sappemeer to New Amsterdam) and "Amsterdam bij nacht" (Amsterdam by Night). Among other places, he has exhibited in the Veenkoloniaal Museum in Veendam, during Noorderlicht, Scheltema Trapgalerij and the International Photo Biennale in Amsterdam.

Jack van Gool (1960) has worked as an independent architectural photographer since graduating from the Academie voor Beeldende Vorming in Tilburg. In his independent work, he focuses on street photography, whereby he allows the moment, the light and the ‘curiousness’ of any everyday scene converge in his picture. He has also worked on the books "Lag Amsterdam maar in Groningen" and "Van Sappemeer tot nieuw Amsterdam", these photos were exhibited in the Noorderlicht satellite programme in 2002 and 2003. Jack won the Fotogram Award in 1999.