“
Photo: Viacheslav RatynskyiThe exhibition was exhibited for the first time at the “Man in the Army” conference, organized by the “Princip” Human Rights Center.
The history of this series began with one picture taken last summer, Vyacheslav told “UP. Life”.
“I photographed a soldier sleeping in a huge dugout, on an artillery position deep in the forest, somewhere in the north of the Kharkiv region in June 2024”– recalls Ratynskyi.
It all started with this photo
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
At that time, the position was difficult to reach – due to the active use of FPV drones, it was difficult to get there or leave.
“The guys weren’t shooting then, so there wasn’t much work, someone was looking at the phone, someone was cooking dinner, but most of them were sleeping”– says Ratynskyi.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi The photographer was always impressed by the ability of fighters to fall asleep anywhere and anytime. He saw that in war this skill is no less necessary than shooting with a machine gun.
“You don’t have to learn this, it comes naturally along with endless fatigue”– says Ratynskyi.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi It was after that first shot that the photographer began to notice soldiers sleeping in different conditions and tried to capture it every time.
“For civilians, these conditions are usually all strange, because they are cellars with spirals, holes dug in the ground, that is, dugouts, trenches, broken houses, whole houses, basements of various factories, or a hammock in the open air.” – says V’yacheslav.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi Most of the photos included in the “Dream” series were taken along almost the entire front line: in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi “Nothing will stop a dream whose time has come”
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi “Everyone who has spent at least a day in a basement, dugout, trench, in a house or in the open air near the front line, knows for sure how sweet it is to sleep to exits and arrivals, shouts from the walkie-talkie or to the sound of ecoflow and the flickering of a light bulb. Nothing will stop a dream whose time has come!” – says the text supplementing Ratynskyi’s photo exhibition.
The photographer recalls that he himself spent the night together with the military in various places – from chic dugouts with bunk beds to tiny basements with twists and turns, where you had to sleep on the ground or take turns.
Literally at the end of August, he slept in the basement of an unfinished building in Pokrovsk, where the military allocated him a separate bed.
“Sometimes I took the place of tired soldiers who also wanted to sleep. Sometimes there was simply no place to sleep. The military were always hospitable, fed generously and gave the best seats”the man says.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi Photographing the sleep of military personnel, says the photographer, is not so easy – because they almost never sleep, but are always working.
“Before, I wondered how it was possible to fall asleep in such places and under such conditions. Now I sleep with pleasure every minute free from work.” – adds Vyacheslav.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi It is interesting that for a photographer, a dream at the front has its own musical sound – like Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 Chopin.
“To fall asleep at the front, I always played Frédéric Chopin’s compositions in my headphones. And when I look at those peaceful faces in the photos, it’s Chopin playing.”he says.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi The most common desire of military personnel is simply to sleep. So the new series of pictures, according to the author, is a story about dreams, dreams and brief moments of pacification that only sleep can give in war.
”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Photo: Viacheslav RatynskyiThe exhibition was exhibited for the first time at the “Man in the Army” conference, organized by the “Princip” Human Rights Center.
The history of this series began with one picture taken last summer, Vyacheslav told “UP. Life”.
“I photographed a soldier sleeping in a huge dugout, on an artillery position deep in the forest, somewhere in the north of the Kharkiv region in June 2024”– recalls Ratynskyi.
It all started with this photo
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
At that time, the position was difficult to reach – due to the active use of FPV drones, it was difficult to get there or leave.
“The guys weren’t shooting then, so there wasn’t much work, someone was looking at the phone, someone was cooking dinner, but most of them were sleeping”– says Ratynskyi.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi The photographer was always impressed by the ability of fighters to fall asleep anywhere and anytime. He saw that in war this skill is no less necessary than shooting with a machine gun.
“You don’t have to learn this, it comes naturally along with endless fatigue”– says Ratynskyi.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi It was after that first shot that the photographer began to notice soldiers sleeping in different conditions and tried to capture it every time.
“For civilians, these conditions are usually all strange, because they are cellars with spirals, holes dug in the ground, that is, dugouts, trenches, broken houses, whole houses, basements of various factories, or a hammock in the open air.” – says V’yacheslav.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi Most of the photos included in the “Dream” series were taken along almost the entire front line: in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi “Nothing will stop a dream whose time has come”
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi “Everyone who has spent at least a day in a basement, dugout, trench, in a house or in the open air near the front line, knows for sure how sweet it is to sleep to exits and arrivals, shouts from the walkie-talkie or to the sound of ecoflow and the flickering of a light bulb. Don’t stop anything a dream whose time has come!” – says the text supplementing Ratynskyi’s photo exhibition.
The photographer recalls that he himself spent the night together with the military in various places – from chic dugouts with bunk beds to tiny basements with twists and turns, where you had to sleep on the ground or take turns.
Literally at the end of August, he slept in the basement of an unfinished building in Pokrovsk, where the military allocated him a separate bed.
“Sometimes I took the place of tired soldiers who also wanted to sleep. Sometimes there was simply no place to sleep. The military were always hospitable, fed generously and gave the best seats”the man says.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi Photographing the sleep of military personnel, says the photographer, is not so easy – because they almost never sleep, but are always working.
“Before, I wondered how it was possible to fall asleep in such places and under such conditions. Now I sleep with pleasure every minute free from work.” – adds Vyacheslav.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi It is interesting that for a photographer, a dream at the front has its own musical sound – like Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 Chopin.
“To fall asleep at the front, I always played Frédéric Chopin’s compositions in my headphones. And when I look at those peaceful faces in the photos, it’s Chopin playing.”he says.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi The most common desire of military personnel is simply to sleep. So the new series of pictures, according to the author, is a story about dreams, dreams and brief moments of pacification that only sleep can give in war.