Lviv - God's Will by Viacheslav Poliakov

A collection of works by Lviv-based photographer Vacheslav Polyakov.

Lviv - God's Will is the name of a bus route that connects the city of Lviv to Bozha Volya, a small village deep in the forest on the Ukrainian-Polish border. The bus leaves the main gate of the old Lviv cemetery and heads westward, where it is said to be a promised land of wealth and eternal joy. The Ukrainian word "Bozha Volya" literally means "God's will" but also has its roots in the word "bozhevillia", which means madness. The scenes and structures seen in the book are exactly as they would be found in Bozha Volya, untouched except for the colorful backgrounds that isolate the subjects from the outside world. They are not limited by any geographical lines, but rather reflect a state of mind. Beneath the surface of its strange aesthetic, Lviv - God's Will reveals a hidden record of socio-political aspects of everyday Ukrainian life.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, along with the expansion of globalization, a simple visual subculture spread widely in public spaces throughout Ukraine. A spectacle of improvised sculptures appeared due to chance interactions and the random intervention of people who were not originally involved. It was like a product of the indiscriminate actions, misunderstandings, acts of vandalism, and the rampage of natural vegetation. But in the end, no one was to blame for these unexpected events. It was all God's will." Viacheslav Poliakov

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Title: Lviv - God's Will
Artist: Viacheslav Poliakov
Overlapse, 2018
Softcover, Section-sewn, OTA binding
170 x 240 mm, 128 pages
Text in English
First Edition
ISBN: 9780994791986
¥5,940 -