KACHALKA. Muscle beach and 7th KM

Kirill Golovchenko was born in Odessa, Ukraine, in 1974. He lives in Mainz, Germany, but his subjects in photography remain exclusively Ukrainian. He is among the most successful photographers of his generation. In 2014, among other titles, he became the winner of the European Publishers Award for Photography.

His native city is famous for ironic sense of humor. Naturally, photographer has not lost it, even if he currently lives in Mainz, Germany. The Ukrainian Breakthrough is one of the most cheerful and ironic series about the economical struggle of Ukrainians for a better tomorrow.

Kachalka. The Muscle beach is a visual story about Kiev’s famous outdoor gym in Ukraine. Founded by a private initiative of mathematician Jurij Kuk and a gymnast Kasimir Jagelsky 35 years ago, today it offers free training facilities with 200 weight lifting stations across 10,000 square meters of area with for anyone who wants to get in shape. Both, young and old Ukrainian bodybuilders in Kirill’s pictures also serve as a powerful and ironic visual metaphor for the ambitious spirit of awakening in this country. The Kachalka book was released by the famous German publisher “Kehrer Verlag”.

7th Km outside Odessa is an enormous trading place where you can buy anything and everything. The legend has it that containers on the main trading lane cost as much as shopping space on Champs Elysees in Paris. The real thing in common is the feeling of luxury you can buy in either places.