In the North of France, the Centre Historique Minier (the Historical Mining Center) hosts Youry Bilak’s photographs on the ‘Miners of Ukraine’.
Born in France to Franco-Ukrainian parents, he made his first trip to Ukraine in his twenties, a country central to his photographic practice. Between 2005 and 2012, he created portraits of miners from different regions, a selection of which can be seen at the mining center.
Ukraine: A Mining Land
90% of Ukrainian coal is located in the Donbass region (the contraction of the name means “Donets Basin”). Youry Bilak photographed miners in this eastern region as well as near the Polish border.
The photographer met them, got to know them, and lived with them for a few days before photographing them. His portraits follow the humanistic photographic tradition: miners pose in work clothes, with a flashlight on their helmets and masks around their necks, after an exhausting workday.
They give a faint smile and have a gentle look that contrasts with the harsh reality of their job. The image is surreal and seems to come from ten feet underground.
“When I was a child, my sister married a boy from Libercourt whose father was a miner. I remember the day I saw a black line in his eye. It was the trace of coal. This image continues to haunt me.”
Miners of Ukraine is a long-term photographic project now completed. Due to the war, many mines in the eastern part of the country have closed. The country experiences power outages following Russian strikes targeting power plants. Applications indicate the availability of power.
Mining Work Has Not Disappeared in Europe
In France, the last mine located in La Houve in Lorraine closed in 2004. But coal remains one of the most used fossil fuels in the world, behind oil and gas. In Europe, Germany has restarted the exploitation of open mines, as has Poland.
This exhibition echoes the mining center, but also the scientific cultural center of energy that occupies the same premises.
Youry Bilak — Miners of Ukraine
Centre historique minier
Until September 22, 2024
Delloye Pit
Rue d’Erchin
59287 Lewarde
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