"I don't photograph what I see, I create it. " Yevheniia Laptii

Photo: "Okolotov - When Scary Tales Turn Into Reality" - Y. Laptii - Photo Print under Acrylic - Artbox black 60x40 cm - Focus Ukraine - Circulation(s) 2024

1/ How did you get started in photography? What does photography mean to you? Can you describe your background.

My name is Zhenya Laptiy, I am a photographer from Ukraine. I currently live in Kryvyi Rih, a small town in the south of Ukraine. I work here as a project manager at a contemporary culture centre, and I also work on my photography projects. I am 32 years old.

2/ How do you describe your style? What was the impact of the war on your work?

I started taking photographs at the age of 24 after graduating from university. I studied to be an art historian and worked as an art manager for a while, but I was missing something in this profession and started looking for myself in creativity. So I started taking pictures, first with my phone, then with a camera.

For me, photography is just a technique of self-expression, the same as painting or performance. But I just chose this form of expression for myself. I can describe my experience in photography as generating reality. That is, I don't photograph what I see, I create it.

I would call my style the generation of reality. After the war started, I was occupied and had to flee the occupied village where I lived. For a long time I lived in Austria and it was difficult for me to return to photography, I couldn't shoot. Before the war, my creative focus was on the human being and the body, but now I can't photograph people. I am no longer interested in them.

3 / Is this the first time you've shown your work in an exhibition? Can you describe how you feel?

No, not for the first time. I've already had more than 50 exhibition projects across Europe and Ukraine at the moment.

4/ What do you plan to do in Paris?

I have never been to Paris before, so it will be my first visit. Of course I will go to the Louvre and other museums!