Spanning a century of upheaval, Christian Mushenko’s project traces a photographer’s return to his ancestral roots — revealing the fragile, beautiful truth of belonging.
“What art is, in reality, is this missing link, not the links which exist. It’s not what you see that is art; art is the gap.”
MARCEL DUCHAMP
My great-grandfather, a balloonist in the Czar’s army, fled Ukraine in 1917, seeking a better life in America amid the turmoil of the Bolshevik Revolution. Because of his journey, my family has lived for generations free from that kind of fear, but our connection to Ukraine has never faded.
I have been blessed to return to Ukraine four times, reconnecting with family and witnessing a country in transformation. My first visit in 1994 – just three years after the country’s independence from the Soviet Union – revealed a striking contrast. On the streets, there was a lingering guardedness, but behind closed doors, I was met with overwhelming warmth from family. Each trip since has deepened my appreciation for resilience, identity, and the unbreakable bonds that span generations and continents. My heart goes out to families there. I can’t imagine what their life is like now!
Maybe trying to make sense of life is like Duchamp’s quote above? In a world of logic and budgets, what matters is how we respond to the gap between the brutality of humanity and the unfathomable grace we know exists.
Loss leaves us with questions, while connection offers a sense of belonging. Between these two extremes – grief and togetherness – our shared human experience unfolds.
This is my “why” as a photographer and director. I want to explore these authentic moments when we lower our guards and truly connect as human beings. In these moments, we reveal our truest selves.
Spanning New York, London, Sydney and Asia, photographer/director Christian Mushenko has the same approach to shooting stills and motion: capturing authentic moments in a distinctive warm and emotive style.
Christian Mushenko’s studio project is a mixture of heartfelt and confronting images that explore the power of touch.
Hannah Caldwell uses nature’s forms and suspended blooms to explore impermanence, and the tender dualities at the heart of human experience.
Andrzej Wojciechowski’s minimalist, meditative journey through symbolic landscapes where body, technology, and myth quietly converge.
Mark Moran’s black and white film series capturing quiet, instinctive encounters with strangers, where mood, light, and subtlety take precedence over spectacle.
Michael Wriston captures America’s backroad gospel in bold, sun-bleached signs—part sermon, part spectacle—shouting belief into the roar of passing trucks.
