The National Museum of Natural History of Ukraine was established in 1966 as a unique complex including four museums: Geological, Paleontological, Zoological and Botanical. It is situated in the heart of Kiev and is one of the biggest museums of its kind in the world. My project consists of taking photographic portraits of the scientific employees of the Museums of Natural History of Ukraine, those who are in charge of restoring, conserving and presenting the collection. These portraits not only tell us about these individuals, but also about our connection with the past.
The employees are relatively old. After talking to each of them, they all pointed out that there is very little interest for such a job from the new generations. Regarding the current state of the Museum I found out that most of the building structures and exposition facilities were built in the 1970s and 1980s. This also applies to the photographic material from the Museum used for this series, which reveals the issue of an under funded cultural policy. The museum seems to have stopped progressing since the Soviet Union. The employees' faces seem somehow connected to the field they are responsible for. Their facial features recall their jobs skills, which feel like they are printed on their faces.
As for the practice I thought that it was essential - in order to better describe the museum - to use their photographic equipment: camera: Kiev 6C medium format, single lens, reflex, 6cmx6cm, date of manufacture 1971-1986; lens: Volna-3, 80mm, F2.8; film : Kodak Portra 120, 400 ISO.