一位摄影师记录了乌克兰公园长椅上的十年生活

在世界上任何一个城市，最常见的景象之一都是简陋的公园长椅:一个朋友聚会的地方，一个吃午餐或者抽根烟的地方，或许还可以小睡一会儿。通常这样的世俗活动容易褪色,我们不会停下来注意到周围发生的事情,但对于乌克兰摄影师Yevgeniy Kotenko,这样的一个长椅上变成了跨越十多年在板凳上丰富的摄影。从2007年开始，科腾科开始在位于基辅的四楼厨房窗户外拍摄当地公园的一条长凳。被夹在儿童游乐场和步行路线之间的这片区域多姿多彩。酗酒者、家庭和恋人在一天的不同时间聚集在同一条长凳上，在科腾科耐心的注视下，一部类似莎士比亚式的戏剧开始在十多年的照片中上演。Kotenko补充道，我从来没有把这些照片和我想让我的观众看到的任何特别的意图或想法进行投资。他们会看到他们想看的东西。这些照片更像是一部记录片。

All photos © Yevgeniy Kotenko, shared with permission.One of the most ubiquitous sights in any city around the world is the humble park bench: a meeting spot for friends, a place to grab lunch or perhaps a smoke, and maybe a quick snooze. Usually such mundane activities fade easily into the background of our busy lives and we would hardly stop to notice the goings on around a small public meeting spot, but for Ukrainian photographer Yevgeniy Kotenko, one such bench has turned into rich body of photography spanning over a decade titled On the Bench. Starting in 2007, Kotenko began to shoot a local park bench outside the window of his parent’s fourth-floor kitchen window in Kiev. Sandwiched between a children’s playground and a walking path, the area proved to be a hotspot of colorful characters. Alcoholics, families, and lovers all congregate on the exact same bench during different times of the day, and when observed with Kotenko’s patient eye an almost Shakespearean drama begins to emerge over a decade of photos. “I wasn’t thinking of making a series or a project,shares Kotenko with Colossal through a translator. “I didn’t select any particular time frame or set of situations to capture. Not until 2012 did my friends tell me that I should put together an exhibition of these photos.”The stark contrast in situations—from a picnic table to an impromtu emergency room—results in a fascinating documentary in the lives of local residents and passersby. “I never invested the photos with any particular intention or idea of what I wanted my audience to see,Kotenko adds. “They will see what they want to see. These photographs are more like a documentary.”You can see dozens more photos from the On the Bench series on Facebook, and you can follow Kotenko on Instagram. Thank you to Jen Carroll for contributing to this piece. (via Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)