J. Sybylla Smith, In Conversation with Yelena Yemchuk

Episode #48, Summary

ODESA is Ukrainian photographer Yelena Yemchuk's hauntingly beautiful love story of a people and the spirit of place.  

Episode Notes 

Yemchuk’s second monograph is a form of visual poetry. Her exceedingly tender portraits exude  sensuality, emotion, and kinetic energy. Her controlled compositions form a lyrical arrangement with words by Ilya Kaminsky. Together both artists capture the elusive essence of this magical city, beguiling and beyond time. 

In this conversation, Yelena discusses, among other things:

  • The story of a place

  • Capturing essence

  • Controlling what is in the frame

  • Connection, collaboration & chance

  • Pushing the composition

  • Uncomfortable cropping

  • Trusting editors

  • Editing out 65% of your work

  • Sequence is key

  • Text & titles

  • Coming from goodness


Referenced in the episode

УYY by Yelena Yemchuk

Ilya Kaminsky

Vogue feature 

SSUR streetwear

Ira Lupu

Kuyalnik Estuary

Federico Fellini

Luis Buñuel

David Lynch

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Andrei Tarkovsky 

Francis Picabia

Paula Rego

Mamma Andersson

Pablo Picasso

Haruki Murakami

Roberto Bolaño


Published by Gost Books

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