“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Wednesday January 31st — —

I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Wednesday January 31st — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Wednesday January 31st — —

Province

Capturing the hedonistic youth of Ukraine’s provinces

What is it, that attracts us so much in raw and unpolished images like these, that capture the world of young adults? Despite that the genre appears in numerous forms, transcending different continents and contrasting cultures, there is always a similar open-mindedness balanced with a certain fragility that comes with youthfulness to be observed. Whether it is to be found in the colorful images of Gilleam Trapenberg or Katja Kremenić, the 78’s captured by Gil Rigoulet, the kids along the 8,000 Miles on a Motorcycle by Robin de Puy or the dark Dystopian Sequences by Alexis Vasilikos. All of these representations are related through a similar energy, inspired by the lack of a strictly demanding moral imperative — they all caption life’s randomness in full effect that hits one first as an adolescent…

We just discovered a worthy addition to this list of favorites in the genre, created by the young Kiev-based photographer Nazar Furyk’s, whose ongoing series capturing the hedonistic youth of Ukraine’s provinces is uncompromising raw and beautifully vibrant, sucking one directly into the palpable world he has captured in still frames.

…[it’s] about a way of everyday life where drugs and alcohol are present, about the days that go unnoticed and they aren’t really any different…

“This series is about the everyday life of young people in the province, about a way of everyday life where drugs and alcohol are present, about the days that go unnoticed and they aren’t really any different, whether it is a weekday or a regular working day. I’ve started taking pictures quite a long time ago. And I can’t say why and how, I do not know, just at some point, I realized that the moments, which at first glance are quite ordinary for someone, are really important and unusual for me. Such a usual life, one just needs to cover, because it can be interesting for others. I do not know if the viewer needs to see these photos. Sometimes it seems to me that no – they’re too personal because I’m not a third-party viewer, because I’m also part of this everyday life.​“

Nazar Furyk was born in Kolomyia. He graduated from the Kiev College of Construction, Architecture and Design with a degree in architecture and the Siauliai College in Lithuania with a degree in construction. As a photojournalist works with Ukrainian and foreign agencies. Nazar lives in Kiev, Ukraine.

For more work follow Nazar on Instagram