Boris Mikhailov
photographer · author
Boris Mikhailov is a prominent Ukrainian photographer and artist whose work emerged during the Soviet era. He is widely recognized for documenting the complexities of post-Soviet life, exploring themes of individual identity against historical mechanisms of public ideology. His photography often captures scenes of poverty, violence, war, and everyday life in Eastern Europe and Ukraine. Mikhailov's practice includes both large-scale photographic series and artist books, frequently incorporating diary-like notes or explanatory text to contextualize his images. He has received numerous prestigious international awards, including the Hasselblad Award (2000) and the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize (2001). His work is held in major collections worldwide, including MoMA and the Tate Modern.[1,4,5,6]
- post-Soviet life
- identity
- poverty
- war
- allegory
- cultural transition
Books
Works by Boris Mikhailov
- 2004 Look at Me, I Look at Water or Perversion of Repose Composed in 1999 at the suggestion of the Heiner Müller Society.
- Ukrainian Diary (1965-2019) The largest retrospective exhibition in the Netherlands devoted to Mikhailov.
- 1998 Case History
Exhibitions
- How German is it? 30 Artists' Notion of Home
- 2023 Boris Mikhailov: Ukrainian Diary
- 2011 Boris Mikhailov: Case History
Awards
- 2000 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography
- 2001 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize (formerly Citibank Private Bank Photography Prize)
- 1996 Coutts Contemporary Art Award
- 1997 Albert Renger-Patzsch Prize