PAST EXHIBITION

Verses: A Family in Odesa, Ukraine

Joseph Sywenkyj

Verses, a solo exhibition by 2012 Baxter St at CCNY Darkroom Resident Joseph Sywenkyj, is a project that documents a Ukrainian family living with HIV for the past decade. This exhibition marks the final of four solo exhibitions from the recipients of the 2012 Baxter St at CCNY Darkroom Residency Program.

Joseph Sywenkyj says about this project: “Verses is the story of a family in Odesa, Ukraine. Sasha, Ira, and their daughter Masha are the lead characters in my ongoing documentation. This is not a story of quick change or fast healing. The story progresses slowly, yet captures moments of family life and dynamics that cover a variety of situations and emotions.”

Sasha and Ira were both diagnosed HIV-positive in the late 1990s. Several days after I met them in 2001, Ira gave birth to her sixth child Masha. A year later they were informed of Masha’s HIV-positive status. Ira has had 3 more children since Masha’s birth. Currently 11 children (including 3 grandchildren) live with them in their small home. Their children range in age from 4 to 20 years old.

Masha, who turned 11 years old in August, is their only child who is HIV-positive. Watching her grow is not only a testament to her personal strength, but also a way to observe the program that gives her free antiretroviral therapy, which keeps her healthy and alive. In Sasha’s case, his health has fluctuated over the years even though he receives antiretroviral therapy.

The overall objective of Verses is to highlight family planning issues and the importance of free or inexpensive antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive people who cannot afford it. This will always remain a central goal. However, the power of this project is that it does not attempt to make sweeping judgments about society and its problems. The power of Verses is that it is a story about family, intimacy, relationships, values, and love and all the anxieties and difficulties that accompany it.

Despite stepped up efforts to fight the disease, Ukraine has one of the fastest growing HIV infection rates in the world and the worst infection rate in Europe. UNAIDS estimates that approximately 350,000 Ukrainians are living with HIV?AIDS and that there have been about 24,000 deaths due to the disease.

According to Dr. Dmitro Donchuk, a Ukrainian infectious disease specialist, in 2010 there were 20,500 new infections of HIV officially registered in Ukraine. Approximately 4,000 of those cases were babies infected with HIV through mother to child transmission, as Masha was 11 years ago.