On 15 February, an exhibition of Roman Chornomaz's works, the Optics of Battle, opened at the INDEX office in Lviv.
The exhibition will be open every Wednesday and Friday from 16:00 to 18:00 until 28 March. Address: 33 Ivana Franka Street, Lviv (3rd floor, central door). Register: https://forms.gle/r4EcjDeYZY2Se1948
In total, the exhibition includes 36 photographs by Roman Chornomaz, a photographer, activist, participant of the Revolution of Dignity, military volunteer with the call sign ‘Corsair’, and sniper. He worked as a journalist and photojournalist in Kyiv for many years. Roman's photographs of the events of 20 February 2014 on Instytutska Street were amongst the evidence of the crimes of the former Ukrainian authorities against their own people. With the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he joined the army and became one of the ‘most capable snipers out there’. He fell in combat on the night of 12-13 June 2023 in the Donetsk region.
You can read Roman's story, a man with a camera and a rifle, here.
The exhibition is co-organised by INDEX and PEN Ukraine. The initiator and curator of the exhibition is Kateryna Mikhalitsyna, a writer, translator, and cultural activist.
“It is not surprising, therefore, that the lens as a means of observing the world has become an integral part of Roman's life. For many years, it was a camera lens. And finally, it became a sniper rifle lens. Because that was his conscious choice. And here you can see the terrible logic of the order in its symbolism: I am where I have to be, doing what I know best - looking through the scope. And thanks to Roman's gaze, we can see too. Images that reflect the continuity of our resistance and struggle,” Kateryna Mikhalitsyna noted in the curatorial statement for the exhibition.
The opening of the exhibition on 15 February took the form of an emotional exchange of memories and reflections. Sofia Chornomaz (Roman's sister), Kateryna Mikhalitsyna (cultural activist, curator of the exhibition), Sasha Dovzhyk (Head of INDEX), Otar Dovzhenko (journalist, creative director of Lviv Media Forum), and Olena Chebeliuk (historian, researcher at the Museum of Dignity in Lviv) shared their insights on Roman’s work and personality.
“This exhibition is Roman's thoughts, his truth, pain and strength. He was always distinguished by the fact that he saw more than others. He was able to notice important things in the details. With these photos, Roman told us the story of a battle. The battle for freedom, without which he could not imagine life. A very unassuming guy, as he called himself. But he chose to fight because he couldn't otherwise,” emphasised Sofia Chornomaz.
