And now in one of such smart galleries the exhibition of a photo project of Igor Gaiday — extremely symbolic and so interesting proceeds.

Igor Gaiday — a famous Kharkiv photographer — reflects in his works on the ecology of urban space. One of his previous photo projects (the most famous of Gaidai's recent works, probably) was called "Bread". Now Gaidai has decided to go, obviously, deeper, to the very foundations and primordial matters: after "Bread" he presented the series "Grain".

This is where the complex symbolism emerges: the grain on the one hand symbolizes fertilization and restoration, and on the other — is a mandatory attribute of funeral rites. In one and the same photo — life itself, and death itself. And literally: in the photo — grains, giant, as close as possible to the viewer, almost deprived of that zoom of exceptional and characteristic features. Here it seems to be rye, and here — maybe coffee, and here — it looks like fig. But it will be difficult to name exactly where there is something. Thus, as if depriving the grain of recognizable features, bringing them into some specific mode of (in) visibility, we are offered to see the very essence of the grain - in fact, to see what will sprout from it. "One grain will grow next year, a hundred — the fruit."

It will be difficult not to mention this poem by Hryhoriy Skovoroda while getting acquainted with Gaidai's works. Because it will germinate, the message of the photo project is extremely optimistic. In these photos, the world is not what it is now, but what it has the potential to become. That is why it is not obvious and unfamiliar to us at the moment.

Will sprout: a photo exhibition by Igor Gaidai