Photographer Spends 10 Years Photographing Same Bench, Captures More Than He Expects
One Ukrainian photographer has spent a decade of his life on a single project, and it’s so intimate, it’ll make you feel things. Through his kitchen window, Yevhen Kotenko has shot the same park bench for 10 years and while its paint changed, some things remained the same.
“I didn’t give myself any time limits or goals, I just went to the kitchen and looked out the window,” Kotenko told RFE/RL. “Usually there was something to see.” Although Kotenko claimed he has fond memories of the neighborhood he grew up in, “there were a lot of bad things, too, that are better not to think about.”
“The worst thing was seeing people I went to school with drinking on this bench, then crawling home like reptiles. I was scared that if I went outside, I’d become one of them.” Kotenko said the subjects he captured were oblivious of his camera. His project had been on display at a Kyiv art pub until January 26 and received mixed reactions. “Some people laughed, others complained that I just focused on the alcoholics.”
And even though the photographer moved to another place in 2017, he will still be able to carry on with his work. “I only moved 1 kilometer down the road.” His parents still live in the apartment with the view.
Damn it! That bench has a more interesting life than I do.
Actually the bench itself is just as interesting, because it undergoes changes, which give a strong indicator as to which photo is the oldest, all the way to the latest shots. After initially going through the pictures, I noticed this, and studied them closely. The pictures are wildly out of order chronologically. The oldest one is unique and easy to separate from the others. Is there anyone here who can tell us which is the oldest, and should be at the top of the list? And can anyone see the four step sequence in the pictures?
For some reason that double post thing happens all the time John. It ends up going away though. The other day I wrote something and it appeared to me about ten to fifteen times but it went away. I think it's happened to a lot of us.
What is going on here? I made one post, and it appear in two places. This is the second time today. :(
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What an uninspired comment.
Uninspired? It's an admission, a confession, dopey. You can't weave an inspired version and still make the point. That said, your comment is uninspired.
This reminds me of a tv programme in the UK about a hospital bed and all the different people that filled it.. Some sad, some being comforted by loved ones, some addicted to things to put them there and some who spent their time,while in the bed, staring out the window, hoping their life will change... So many people, using the same still object but with so many reasons and stories... Fascinating, in a strange way.
Can you share the show's name please?
Possibly 24 Hours in A&E? Not entirely dissimilar to what Hope Floats is describing.... my guess is Channel 4 either way!
Great concept, genius work. These photos are full of charm.
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90% of people in these photos are alcoholics. CHARM? What the heck?
you don't know they're 90% alcoholics but they sure are accompanied by alcohol...big Ukranian problem
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I resigned my office-job and now I am getting paid £64 hourly. How? I work over internet! My old work was making me miserable, so I was forced to try something different, two years after...I can say my life is changed-completely for the better! Check it out what i do... http://cutt.us/FGmy3
Damn it! That bench has a more interesting life than I do.
Actually the bench itself is just as interesting, because it undergoes changes, which give a strong indicator as to which photo is the oldest, all the way to the latest shots. After initially going through the pictures, I noticed this, and studied them closely. The pictures are wildly out of order chronologically. The oldest one is unique and easy to separate from the others. Is there anyone here who can tell us which is the oldest, and should be at the top of the list? And can anyone see the four step sequence in the pictures?
For some reason that double post thing happens all the time John. It ends up going away though. The other day I wrote something and it appeared to me about ten to fifteen times but it went away. I think it's happened to a lot of us.
What is going on here? I made one post, and it appear in two places. This is the second time today. :(
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
What an uninspired comment.
Uninspired? It's an admission, a confession, dopey. You can't weave an inspired version and still make the point. That said, your comment is uninspired.
This reminds me of a tv programme in the UK about a hospital bed and all the different people that filled it.. Some sad, some being comforted by loved ones, some addicted to things to put them there and some who spent their time,while in the bed, staring out the window, hoping their life will change... So many people, using the same still object but with so many reasons and stories... Fascinating, in a strange way.
Can you share the show's name please?
Possibly 24 Hours in A&E? Not entirely dissimilar to what Hope Floats is describing.... my guess is Channel 4 either way!
Great concept, genius work. These photos are full of charm.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
90% of people in these photos are alcoholics. CHARM? What the heck?
you don't know they're 90% alcoholics but they sure are accompanied by alcohol...big Ukranian problem
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I resigned my office-job and now I am getting paid £64 hourly. How? I work over internet! My old work was making me miserable, so I was forced to try something different, two years after...I can say my life is changed-completely for the better! Check it out what i do... http://cutt.us/FGmy3