Vadim Fedorov & Sergiy Kononenko – Ruins of Oblivion

Traces of the Black Sea Germans in Southern Ukraine

The great emigration movement of Germans to Russia and southern Ukraine began during the reigns of Catherine II and Alexander I and lasted until the beginning of the 20th century. In southern Ukraine, the settlement areas of the so-called Black Sea Germans emerged. In the valley of the Berezan River, cult objects of German culture can still be found, but they are increasingly decaying and turning into ruins from year to year. In 2021, Ukrainian photographers Sergiy Kononenko and Vadim Fedorov visited severeal villages – former German colonies – in the Mykolayiv region. Other German settlements are located in the Donetsk and Kherson regions and in the region around Mariupol. Their fate is currently unknown, as these areas are occupied by Russian troops and fighting is taking place in most of them.

Vadim Fedorov was born on 25 June 1966 in Mykolayiv (Ukraine) and is a trained engineer for radio-optical equipment. He has participated in more than 30 competitions and group exhibitions in Ukraine. Fedorov has been a member of the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine since 2018.

Sergiy Kononenko was born on 8 August 1966 in Mykolayiv (Ukraine). He actively participated in the collective urban photo exhibitions “Sport for All”. He currently works in a water supply company as a manager of sewage pumping stations. With the beginning of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, he started documenting the destruction of houses and the death of civilians. He has been a member of the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine since 2020.

Curated by Elena Pagel (Russia/Germany) and Irina Guziy (Ukraine/Spain)

The Vernissage was part of the Neustadt Art Festivals. This non-commercial art and culture festival is taking place for the 12th time this year. From 22 to 24 September 2023 there will be exhibitions, concerts, readings, performances and much more – all on one weekend in Dresden’s Neustadt – self-organised by representatives of all kinds of art genres and together in a variety of places.