INVITATION TO THE VERNISSAGE
May 12, 2022, 6-10 p.m.
THE ROAD BEYOND – UKRAINE 2010–2020
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RUSLAN HRUSHCHAK AT THE GALERIE BUCHKUNST BERLIN
In collaboration with Galerie Buchkunst Berlin, the West-Eastern Encounters Foundation is presenting the poignant and poetic photographs of Ukrainian photographer Ruslan Hrushchak from his series The Road Beyond. The exhibition opening will take place on Thursday, 12 May 2022, from 6 pm to 10 pm, and will feature a comprehensive programme of events. You are cordially invited to attend.
In The Road Beyond, Ruslan Hrushchak’s photographs transport us to the people and places of his homeland, Ukraine, which he left twenty years ago. Acting on an inner impulse, he started photographing his family, relatives, and friends in western Ukraine and the Carpathian Mountains. He continues to follow in their footsteps: a branching network of memories stretching across the entire country — a journey in search of happiness. The biographies and stories recount life plans in a country and a Europe that will no longer exist as we knew them.
For the photographer, the journey is a return to a time without destruction, a time without the fear of sirens and missile attacks. The photographs offer a glimpse of a peaceful life, where people have the freedom to shape their own future. This promise must be honoured once again. The everyday observations and portraits depict the trust of the subjects and the photographer’s renewed sense of familiarity. This mutual trust is inherent in Ruslan Hrushchak’s photographs. This comprehensive selection of the series will be shown for the first time in Berlin from 13 May to 18 June 2022.
To accompany the exhibition, the West-Eastern Encounters Foundation, the photographer and Galerie Buchkunst Berlin are creating a limited edition of posters featuring two different motifs. 100% of the proceeds from book sales will be donated to an aid organisation for the people of Ukraine. 20% of the proceeds from book sales will also be donated.
