Boris Mikhailov with Mykola Ridnyi
Patriot Games, 2007
About the Works
Cyclical processes also took place in Ukrainian politics. The period after the Orange Revolution of 2004 was a time of disappointment. The Orange and Blue politicians began to divide the country into East and West, opposing the European dream and the Russian economy. Simultaneously, the parliamentarians changed colors, easily moving from one camp to another to pursue personal gain and profit. Watching T.V. news theater, Boris and I engaged in home theater, depicting sometimes situational struggles, then friendships, and then almost love relationships in sports suits of political colors. This soap opera turned into our collective series of Patriot Games.
Mykola Ridnyi
About the Artist
Borys Mykhailov was born in Ukraine in 1938. His challenging and provocative photographs document human casualties in post-communist Eastern Europe after the demise of the Soviet Union. Since the mid-1960s, Borys Mykhailov has explored photography’s full range of possibilities and produced an uncompromising yet ironically humorous portrait of his close surroundings. His tireless investigations into photographic techniques and stylistic means, as well as his frequent alternation between conceptual and documentary work, have contributed to making Mykhailov one of the most influential photographers living today.
Mykhailov represented Ukraine at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017). Other recent solo exhibitions include: Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris (2022); Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (2019); Before Sleep/After Drinking, C/O Berlin Foundation, Berlin (2019); Fotomuseum, Antwerp (2016); Kunstverein Wolfenbüttel (2016); MADRE, Naples (2015); Camera Italian Centre for Photography, Turin (2015); Sprengel Museum, Hannover (2013); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2011); and Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2010). Mykhailov was the recipient of the 2016 Goslar Kaiserring Prize; the 2012 Spectrum International Prize for Photography; the Citibank 2001 Photography Prize; and the 2000 Hasselblad Foundation International Award, among others. His work is included in important public collections, including Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; ICA, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Modern, London; Tel Aviv Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; MoMA, New York.
