The profound changes brought about by the Great War are now evident everywhere: in people, in landscapes, and, of course, in language. Its colorful polysemy continues to be filled with new meanings and metaphors. Now, when we talk about a “pixel,” the first thing that comes to mind is military uniform, not the smallest unit of a digital image, and “donates” no longer refer to sweet doughnuts, but to the vitally necessary supplies for our defenders, the people thanks to whom we are able to continue living and working.
We are particularly excited to present the project “On the Retina” by aerial reconnaissance specialist Oleksandr Khoroshun, in which we will attempt to reveal details of the daily work of a UAV operator through unexpected photographs taken from drones.
It is impossible to imagine modern warfare without tactical aerial reconnaissance. Thanks to the fact that this work is carried out continuously across the entire front line, the military is able to reconnoiter and transmit information, destroy the enemy, and most importantly, save lives. It has become quite obvious that drones are not just weapons, but the military’s additional eyes. So how does it all work?
The duration of a Mavic crew shift can be measured in “flights” or “battles.” After returning the drone “home,” the operator removes the discharged battery, and then a black-and-white image of what the drone saw in its last moments remains on the screen through which the Mavic was controlled. Even if the drone does not return, this image from the place of loss remains frozen on the screen, resembling the retina of the human eye, which always retains the visual image for a moment, even when that image physically disappears.
Oleksandr Khoroshun notes that during his service, he took hundreds of such flights until one day he noticed that these images had not only documentary value, but often artistic value as well. Gradually, he began collecting photos with interesting angles and content, which formed the basis of this project.
Therefore, the undoubted highlight of this project is the fact that the photographs were not taken by a human being, but by the “eyes of an iron bird,” without which it is impossible to imagine the current war. The drone can be turned off at any moment, so the exhibited photographs were created mostly by chance. Oleksandr Khoroshun acts here not as an author, but as a thoughtful curator, who was most interested not in the artistic quality of the work, but rather in its dichotomy, which is especially noticeable on the line of demarcation: the narrow entrance to the dugout, which is covered with a glamorous Louis Vuitton curtain, friendly gatherings in a cramped improvised kitchen, unplanned thermal imaging portraits of night shift pilots, some of whom are now forever in the heavenly army. The mud and beauty of deformed landscapes, and most importantly, the sunrise, which, despite all the horrors of war, gives hope for a new day.
We sincerely invite you to immerse yourself in the details of the life of UAV operator Oleksandr Khoroshun and his comrades, and we urge you to join the current fundraising campaign, which makes their work even more effective.
