Photography as a Tool for the Representation of Cultural Memory: the Photo Project "Vylkove. The Space of Water as a Form of Memory"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32461/2226-3209.1.2026.356242Keywords:
photography, photographic art, documentary photography, Vylkove, Danube Delta, cultural memory, visual ethnography, visual anthropologyAbstract
The purpose of the article is to identify the artistic and semantic potential of photography as a tool for representing cultural memory, using the author’s photographic art project “Vylkove. The Space of Water as a Form of Memory” as a case study. Research methodology. The study employs visual-analytical methods and methods of visual material interpretation, tools of visual ethnography, as well as the method of photo-elicitation as a way of connecting images with social narratives. Scientific novelty. The novelty of the article lies in the author’s presentation of the photographic art project as a visual narrative demonstrating photography’s ability to capture intangible heritage through the visualization of symbolic sites of memory, using the example of Vylkove—the Ukrainian Venice—which appears as a culturally formed system of practices and meanings. Conclusions. The author’s photo project “Vylkove. The Space of Water as a Form of Memory” demonstrates that photography is capable of representing cultural memory not only by documenting artifacts but also by visualizing everyday practices in which memory functions as a “living” form of experience. In the series of photographs, water appears as a multifunctional cultural medium: a natural environment, a communication infrastructure, a resource, and a symbolic carrier of collective meanings. The combination of documentary accuracy and artistic composition preserves the effect of “testimony” while forming a coherent visual narrative.
References
Babii, I. L. (2025). Genesis of photography as a type of fine art: From artistic practices to an educational discipline. Visnyk of the National Academy of Managerial Staff of Culture and Arts, (2), 257–265. https://doi.org/10.32461/2226-3209.2.2025.338978 [in Ukrainian].
Barthes, R. (2022). Camera lucida: Reflections on photography. MOKSOP. (Original work published 1980) [in Ukrainian].
Bezruchko, O., & Anisimova, A. (2024). Master’s photographic art project “Ancient Sambir in modern images”. Bulletin of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Series in Audiovisual Art and Production, 7(2), 340–362. https://doi.org/10.31866/2617-2674.7.2.2024.319019 [in Ukrainian].
Bordeniuk, S., Havran, I., & Hrymalska, V. (2021). Features of street photography and its similarities with cinematography. Bulletin of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Series in Audiovisual Art and Production, 4(2), 278–285. https://doi.org/10.31866/2617-2674.4.2.2021.248772 [in Ukrainian].
Vdovychenko, N. (2025). Photographic art project “Reflection as a means of creating an alternative reality in photography”. Bulletin of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Series in Audiovisual Art and Production, 8(2), 320–337. https://doi.org/10.31866/2617-2674.8.2.2025.347826 [in Ukrainian].
Kobets, K., & Ovcharenko, T. (2025). Documentary photography as a part of visual history and anthropology. SWorldJournal, (30(03)). https://doi.org/10.30888/2663-5712.2025-30-03-037 [in Ukrainian].
Pavlova, O. (2022). Visual anthropology: Stages of development and basic elements of analysis. NaUKMA Research Papers. Theory and History of Culture, 5, 47–53. https://doi.org/10.18523/2617-8907.2022.5.47-53 [in Ukrainian].
Stranadko, E., & Kanailo, A. (2024). Master’s photographic art project “Never again?!”. Bulletin of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Series in Audiovisual Art and Production, 7(1), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.31866/2617-2674.7.1.2024.302771 [in Ukrainian].
De Almeida, B. (2025). A complicated portrait of the Portuguese River Paiva: A photo-essay. TRAJECTORIA (National Museum of Ethnology, Japan), 6, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.51002/trajectoria_025_04 [in English].
Berger, J. (2013). Understanding a photograph (G. Dyer, Ed.). Penguin Books. https://ia803404.us.archive.org/0/items/john-berger-understanding-a-photograph_202104/John%20Berger
%20-%20Understanding%20a%20Photograph.pdf [in English].
Pink, S. (2013). Doing visual ethnography (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/57538_Pink__Doing_Visual_Ethnography.pdf [in English].
Sontag, S. (1977). On photography. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/156/2016/01/Sontag_On_Photography.pdf [in English].
Van der Maarel, S. (2022). Guided into a world unknown: Reflections on the making of a visual essay with refugees. Imaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Image Studies, 13(2), 207–210. https://doi.org/10.17742/IMAGE.TP.13.2.9 [in English].
Wells, L. (Ed.). (2000). Photography: A critical introduction. Routledge. https://archive.org/details/photographycriti0000unse [in English].
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License International CC-BY that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
