Igor Chekachkov : Emotional territories
Igor Chekachkov is a singular figure in contemporary Ukrainian photography, whose work lies at the intersection of intimate documentary and autobiographical fiction. Born in Kharkiv, he has developed a body of work deeply rooted in the exploration of identity, desire, and memory, often through a highly personal approach to visual storytelling. His best-known project, I Love You, is emblematic of this practice: a fragmented dive into his romantic relationships, where images oscillate between tenderness, emotional confusion, and psychological tension. For him, photography is never a mere capture of reality. It operates as a mental space, almost performative, where inner states are replayed. Bodies are close, sometimes vulnerable, often ambiguous. Intimacy becomes a field of experimentation, but also one of exposure — both emotional and aesthetic. His style is distinctive: raw, direct, sometimes deliberately unstable. He employs out of focus, front flash, and tight framing, creating a sense of urgency and unease. This visual language evokes a kind of tense diary, where each image feels both lived and reconstructed. His work can be linked to certain practices emerging from Eastern European photography, where the post-Soviet legacy intersects with a search for individual and emotional freedom. Yet Chekachkov stands apart through an almost obsessive radicality in his exploration of romantic bonds — a territory he approaches without filters, with a sometimes unsettling honesty. In essence, Igor Chekachkov offers a photography from within: fragile, electric, and deeply human. A body of work that does not seek to please, but to confront — and to make us feel.
Website : www.chekachkov.com
Instagram : @chekachkov
New : “ 100 Days of War” edited by Editions André Frère
Represented by : Galerie LENEUF SINIBALDI 9 rue Henner Paris 75009
Your first photographic trigger?
Igor Chekachkov : Stanley Kubrick.
A photographic memory from your childhood?
Igor Chekachkov : First time seeing the magic of Polaroid that instantly gives an image.
The camera of your childhood?
Igor Chekachkov : I didn’t have a camera till very late.
The one you use today?
Igor Chekachkov : Any camera which I have with me now.
The man or woman of the image who inspired you?
Igor Chekachkov : Yukio Mishima.
The image you wish you had taken?
Igor Chekachkov : An image of my father, before he got sick.
The one that moved you the most?
Igor Chekachkov : My friend in Ukraine is taking care of my cat. The images of him she sends me daily move me infinitely.
And the one that made you angry?
Igor Chekachkov : Every image of russian attack on Ukraine.
Which photograph changed the world?
Igor Chekachkov : I like the idea of a photograph that can change the world, but I am less naive today to believe it can happen.
And which photograph changed your world?
Igor Chekachkov : It happens too often – I see the image that expands my world and understanding of photography.
A key image in your personal pantheon?
Igor Chekachkov : That would be some from Boris Mikhailov.
What interests you most in an image?
Igor Chekachkov : I was fascinated by the idea of how images shape our perception, but since I left home, I think
more about the relation of image and memory, and the way how phptography helps us to deal
with reality, or to distract ourselves from it.
What details do you look for in a face, a landscape, or an object?
Igor Chekachkov : t depends on what I am working on right now; I can’t generalise this as all my work will be
defined by one particular search. I may look for vulnerability today, and for resilience tomorrow.
But I guess I just always search for who I am, either in the landscape or a portrait.
Elliott Erwitt said: “Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretative.” Do you agree?
Igor Chekachkov : This statement is an oversimplification (even though in the times he said it, it may have sounded more truthful).
In your opinion, can technique sometimes take precedence over emotion in photography?
Igor Chekachkov : Surely can, and the history of photography has enough examples of that happening.
Is beauty in photography, for you, purely aesthetic?
Igor Chekachkov : Definitely not, those times are long gone.
What elements can make silence visible in a photograph?
Igor Chekachkov : would start with the question, “ Why do we want to make silence visible?”
Does the uniqueness of a photograph come from the moment or from staging? Can a photograph be truer than reality?
Igor Chekachkov : Moment is a powerful attribute of photography that distinguishes it from other media. Can
photography be more truthful than reality? Of course it can. I doubt that reality can be truthful,
though.
Can a photograph change our perception of an event?
Igor Chekachkov : Of course. Photography is a great tool of manipulation.
Is photography a testimony or a form of manipulation?
Igor Chekachkov : It can be both, and it can be more.
What makes a good photograph?
Igor Chekachkov : I once heard a phrase: ”A good photograph, is such a good photograph, that differs from other
good photographs”. I like it.
In your opinion, what quality is necessary to be a good photographer?
Igor Chekachkov : Photography is too diverse to narrow it down to one quality. For some types of photography,
being communicative and easy-going can be the quality that can get you far. For another, the intelligence and well-readness. But if to find one, it would probably be curiosity.
How do you choose your projects?
Igor Chekachkov : t is always an intuitive choice. Before 2022, reading gave me a lot of inspiration. Since the full- scale invasion of Ukraine, I don’t search for projects anymore – they always come, shaped by war and displacement.
How would you describe your creative process?
Igor Chekachkov : Shooting, reading, shooting, editing, shooting, editing, sequencing. showing to friends, and then start all over again till it is finished. I guess something like that.
An upcoming project that is particularly close to your heart?
Igor Chekachkov : I am working now on a project about displacement and search for home – it occupies all my heart, and exists not just as a project but as my everyday life.
The person you would like to photograph?
Igor Chekachkov : I would like to photograph Putin. In a grave, or in jail.
The person by whom you would like to be photographed?
Igor Chekachkov : Antoine D’Agata, maybe?
An essential photography book?
Igor Chekachkov : I will name three: Ravens, Sentimental Journey, and Unfinished Dissertation.
What is the last photograph you took?
Igor Chekachkov : something on my phone, to share it with those who are afar – isn’t it how we use photography today?
On social media, are you more Instagram, Facebook, TikTok — and why?
Igor Chekachkov : On Instagram, and this is already too much. But it is hard to be a photographer and not have one.
What has changed in photography since the rise of social media?
Igor Chekachkov : Before people took photographs to remember moments. Now – to share them.
An Instagram account everyone should follow?
Igor Chekachkov : Kyiv Independent, and to see what Ukraine is going through (still).
What is your view on AI?
Igor Chekachkov : Fascinating tool.
Color or black and white?
Igor Chekachkov : colour (and yet I find it dangerous to have the answer beforehand).
Natural light or artificial light?
Igor Chekachkov : One should see, depending on the situation, not on the conviction.
Which city seems the most photogenic to you?
Igor Chekachkov : Your own, even though it is so hard to see. Otherwise, we become tourists.
The city, country, or culture you dream of discovering?
Igor Chekachkov : My own.
A place you never tire of?
Igor Chekachkov : Paris.
The image that, for you, represents the current state of the world?
Igor Chekachkov : For me, every image of the war in Ukraine represents the world as a whole.
In your opinion, what is missing in today’s world?
Igor Chekachkov : Empathy.
If God existed, would you ask Him to pose for you, or would you opt for a selfie with Him?
Igor Chekachkov : Isn’t photographing God always a selfie?
Your favorite drug?
Igor Chekachkov : Meditation.
Your best way to disconnect?
Igor Chekachkov : Travelling.
Your latest madness?
Igor Chekachkov : Moving to Paris.
Your greatest professional extravagance?
Igor Chekachkov : Making a book from damaged images of my broken hard drive.
A profession you would not have liked to pursue?
Igor Chekachkov : Any other than being an artist.
Which question unsettles you the most?
Igor Chekachkov : All the ones that try to narrow down photography to a simple rule.
The last thing you did for the first time?
Igor Chekachkov : Ayahuasca.
Your greatest regret?
Igor Chekachkov : Discovering therapy too late.
If you had to start all over again?
Igor Chekachkov : I would do less mistakes, but it sounds like cheating. We are our mistakes as much as our
achievements.
If I could organize your ideal dinner, who would be at the table?
Igor Chekachkov : I prefer conversations 1 on 1, so I would like to have dinner with William Kentridge.
What do you like people to say about you… after you’re gone?
Igor Chekachkov : I don’t want to be bothered by thinking what people would think of me. I just try to live my life in the best way I can do it..
The one thing people absolutely must know about you?
Igor Chekachkov : My latest book, “100 Days of War”.
A final word?
Igor Chekachkov : No, thank you !
