Soviet Mosaics: the book that unearthed Ukraine’s forgotten art

A new art book entitled, Decommunized: Ukrainian Soviet mosaics, has been published by Osnovy, documenting Soviet-era mosaics across Ukraine, including Russian-occupied Crimea and parts of war-torn Donbass.

The book was created by Kiev-born photographer Yevgen Nikiforov, whose motivation for the project was to “bring people’s attention to the fact they’re surrounded by art. The art that is hidden by modern renovations, new tacky buildings and uncontrolled advertisements.”

The book is divided into seven thematic chapters: people, labour and industrialisation, history and ideology, sport and leisure, science and space, folk and national motifs, small architectural forms and mosaic ensembles.

Nikiforov, who used to be a fashion photographer in China, turned to documentary photography when the EuroMaidan Revolution began in 2013, around the same time he was asked by Osnovy publishing house to shoot mosaics for their previous book, The Art of the Ukrainian Sixites. Inspired by the personal stories and artistic challenges of these works, Nikiforov set about creating his own anthology of Ukrainian mosaics which came to fruition in May of this year.

The project came into sharper focus in April 2015, when the Ukrainian government passed laws banning communist symbols, which meant Nikiforov had to work quickly before the mosaics were either destroyed or painted over.

The book, which can be seen in more detail on the photographer’s website, may just be the last bastion for remembering this underacknowledged thread in Ukraine’s artistic past.