WhiteWall - Partner of the Circulation(s) festival 2024

The European festival dedicated to young European photography will be held in Paris from April 6.

A highly anticipated 14th edition

Supporting the photography scene, and in particular young emerging artists, has long been one of WhiteWall's commitments. Consequently, we are delighted to be supporting the Circulation(s) festival for the 3rd year running, which will be held in Paris from April 6 until June 2, 2024.

With its demanding selection and bold program, Circulation(s), organized by the Fetart collective, has established itself as one of the major events on the European photography scene. Combining exhibitions, workshops, portfolio readings and encounters with artists in the same fashionable artistic venue in the heart of Paris, Circulation(s) has the singularity of offering a varied, innovative and high-quality program, aimed at all photography enthusiasts and beyond. Eager to discover young talent and reveal new trends, Circulation(s)'s artistic committee, made up of 10 professional curators, receives over 1,000 applications each year from international artists wishing to present their work, which are carefully reviewed by the jury to finally retain only around thirty artists per edition. Throughout the festival, visitors will have the opportunity to choose their favorite artist. The winner of this year's Audience Award will be awarded a WhiteWall prize of €500.00.

The 14th edition of the festival features twenty-four artists of fourteen different nationalities, offering an open artistic vision that questions the boundaries between photography and contemporary art. This year's focus, for which WhiteWall has produced almost all the works, is dedicated to the Ukraine. The curator of the exhibition will be joined by a WhiteWall expert during the professional weekend on April 27 and 28, 2024.

We invite you to discover the full program of exhibitions, activities and workshops on the Circulation(s) program.

Circulation(s) - Festival for Young European Photography

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Ukrainian artists in the spotlight this year

Every year, Circulation(s) spotlights a particular artistic scene, inviting young artists from that region to present their work. After exploring the Romanian, Portuguese, Belarusian, Armenian and Bulgarian photographic scenes, this year's focus is on the Ukraine. For the third year running, WhiteWall is supporting the focus by producing works from the various series on show.

Russia's invasion of Ukrainian territory and the war that ensued strongly influence the series presented by the four artists. Yet each offers a very different interpretation. Maryna Brodovska, who had to hide for several days at the start of the conflict, recounts the refuge she found deep inside herself during this experience. Lisa Bukreyeva collects and reworks images of everyday Ukrainian life to combat invisibilization and oblivion. Yevheniia Laptii stages a dystopian tale that sadly became reality with the arrival of Russian tanks. Finally, Dima Tolkachov explores the consequences and indirect symptoms of war through visual metaphors.

Yevheniia Laptii, "Okolotok", When Scary Tales turns into Reality

"Okolotok" is an ancient Ukrainian word for a self-sufficient village. This story is about a village populated by children. There's a mad king, a jester who dreams of seizing power, and a princess who lives in darkness. These are allegories that come from childhood, because childhood is the refuge of imagination, dreams, chimeras, love and friendship, but fairy tales are not always beautiful and are sometimes populated by monsters and demons.

Discover the artist and the series

Lisa Burkreyeva, Don't Look at the Pain of Others

"In the summer of 2022, I realized that only Ukrainians see the news that Ukrainians see. No media in the world wants to bombard its viewers with live tragedy. I decided to document not only the events and images, but also this deliberate choice to look the other way (...)" – LB

Lisa Bukreyeva has collected videos of major events, filmed by ordinary people and not journalists, then checked the facts. Her photographs are contact prints made by exposing paper to screenshots converted into negatives.

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Maryna Brodovska, I Joke therefore I am

During the first days of the war in Ukraine, Maryna Brodovska had to make the choice to hide in the basement of a Kyiv hospital morgue, safe from bombs and street fighting, in fear and ignorance of what was to come. To avoid death, she took refuge as close to her as possible, silently, for three days. She shares her surreal experience with us through her texts and collages. "It helped me see the beauty in every second of life. It gave me hope to get through this difficult period. I will learn to live, love and laugh again, looking straight into the abyss of death, without fear." – MB

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Dima Tolkachov, Faces

Faces was photographed in Irpin – a heavily bombed and partly occupied city. Unable, for reasons of modesty, to photograph the faces of the inhabitants who had survived, Dima Tolkachov went looking for metaphorical faces on the walls of buildings, in the traces of bullet and shell impacts. A way for him to depict the feelings of those who suffered from the invasion, without intruding on their privacy.

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Exhibition produced by WhiteWall

As a partner of the Circulation(s) festival, WhiteWall has produced almost all the works in the exhibition dedicated to the Ukrainian art scene.

The image on the right shows the framing of a photo by Maryna Brodovska with a blue neon Pop Art frame.

The images in the "I Joke Therefore I am" series were printed directly on ChromaLuxe HD Metal. Many of the photos were then framed in a neon blue Pop Art frame. The ChromaLuxe surface brings out the luminosity of the colors, and the neon frame further accentuates the series' quirky character.

The images in Yevheniia Laptii's "When Scary Tales turn into reality" series were printed on photo paper, then laminated under acrylic glass with a glossy finish to accentuate the surreal, fairy-tale quality of the whole, and framed in a black oak ArtBox frame.

The images in Lisa Burkreyeva's series were printed on ILFORD black & white photo paper, then mounted under matte acrylic glass. The matte-finish acrylic glass adds depth to the series and echoes the tragic dimension of the images.

The images in the Faces series were printed on photo paper and then laminated under thick acrylic glass, the Acrylic Photo Block. Each image thus forms a compact entity representing a face.

About the ukrainian artists

Artist

Black and white portrait of a woman
Yevheniia Laptii

Discover the interview and portrait of Yevheniia Laptii.

Artist

Maryna Brodovska

Discover the interview and portrait of Maryna Brodosvka.

Artist

Black and with portrait of a young man wearing a gap

Dima Tolkachov

Discover the interview and portrait of Dima Tolkachov.

Products featured in the exhibition