Alexander Chekmenev (Oleksandr Chekmenov) (, , born April 1, 1969) is a Ukrainian documentary photographer and photojournalist based in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Career

Chekmenev made his first photo while in school, attended a photoclub and later got a professional certificate from a licensed photo studio in

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

in 1988. He worked for a studio in Luhansk and did small time jobs taking pictures of weddings, birthdays and other occasions. He also occasionally volunteered as a forensic photographer for an ambulance brigade in the city. In 1997 he was invited to a Kiyv-based daily newspaper as a photojournalist and moved to Kyiv. In 1998 the newspaper ceased operation, Chekmenev became a freelancer and has been working as an independent photojournalist ever since. Today he works as a photojournalist His first book was called simply ''Black and White Photographs'' and was published in 2008 in Kyiv as a part of series on Ukrainian photography. In 2011 Alexander made a private print of his book ''Donbass'' in Germany. Chekmenev created a series of portraits of protestors, called ''Warriors'', as they emerged from the street battles of

Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

. His next book ''Passport'' was based on his work of 1994/95 and was published in the UK in 2017.

Publications

Publications by Chekmenev

* ''Black and White Photographs''. Kyiv: Artbook, 2008. . Ukrainian/English. Edition of 1000 copies. * ''Donbass''. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2011. Edited by Andrej Krementschouk. . German/English/Russian. * ''Passport''. Stockport:

Dewi Lewis Dewi Lewis (born Denbigh, Wales, 10 March 1951) is a publisher and curator of photography. Career In 1975, Lewis was the founding director of the Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury Metropolitan Arts Association which operates The Met (arts centre), ...

, 2017. . Edition of 1000 copies. * ''Lilies''. Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography, 2020. Photography and text by Chekmenev. Edited by Sergiy Lebedynskyy. . Ukrainian/English. Edition of 550 copies. *''Pharmakon: Ambulance in Luhansk 1994–1995''. Palermo: 89books, 2021. . With an essay by Donald Weber.

Publications with others

* ''Insight. Ukrainian black and white photography in the XXI century.'' 2008.

Collections

* Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography, Kharkiv, Ukraine (245 prints from various series) *

Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lic ...

, Cologne, Germany (15 prints from the ''Passport'' series) *

Mystetskyi Arsenal National Art and Culture Museum Complex The ''Mystetskyi Arsenal'' National Art and Culture Museum Complex, also known as ''Mystetskyi Arsenal'' () is Ukraine's flagship public cultural institution, a museum and art exhibition complex located at 10–12 Lavrska Street (Kyiv), Lavrska ...

, Kyiv, Ukraine (prints from the ''Passport'' series) * Märkisches Museum, Witten, Germany (2 prints from the ''Donbass'' series)

Solo exhibitions

* ''Ukrainian Passport'', ''Lilac'' series, City art gallery in

Poprad Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...

, Slovakia, 2000 * ''Ukrainian Passport'', ''Lilac'', ''The Blind'', ''Easter'', ''Portraits'', ''The Miners'', City art gallery in

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

, Poland, 2001 * ''Donbass'',

Perm Museum of Contemporary Art Perm Museum of Contemporary Art (PERMM) () is an art gallery in Perm, Perm Krai, Russia, that officially opened in spring 2009. It holds changing exhibitions, festivals, artist talks, lectures, workshops, concerts and performances. It is housed ...

, Perm, Russia, 2010 * ''Donbass'', , Witten, Germany, 2013 * ''Donbass'', Pálffy Palace, Bratislava, Slovakia, 2015 * ''Donbass'', ''Passport'',

Blue Sky Gallery Blue Sky Gallery, also known as The Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, is a non-profit exhibition space for contemporary photography in Portland, Oregon. Blue Sky Gallery is dedicated to public education, began by showing local artists and ...

, Portland, OR, 2016 * ''Donbass'', Märkisches Museum, Witten, Germany, 2018

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

*
"Ukrainian Servicemen"
The New Yorker, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chekmenev, Alexander 1969 births Living people People from Luhansk Ukrainian photographers Moscow State University alumni