Viacheslav
Poliakov
Bio
My name is Viacheslav Poliakov (Вʼячеслав Поляков). I was born in Kherson, Ukraine, in 1986. The year of Chernobyl, the time the Russian Empire was falling apart once again. Being just a kid in the late 80s, I've missed the apocalypse. But was old enough to enjoy the aftermath as a teen: mass poverty, street gangs and packs of stray dogs. Now in 2026, Herson is a frontline city with just a fraction of its population. All my family’s property is either occupied or in "no-go zone".
I earned Master’s Degree in Art Education in Kherson State University, where I focused on ink drawings. My History of Arts course ended on 19th century russian realism, and, being pissed off, I moved into commercial 3D. Thanks to the art community built by Max & Lena Afanasievy (Totem), artist-run space by Slava Mashnitskiy (MCMX) and personal practice of Stas Voliazlovskiy I stayed connected to art.
In 2012 became interested in photography and run away to Lviv — a city with a broader art scene and proximity to low-cost airports in Poland. There, I met Elena Subach, and we became a photographic community for each other.
My art practice is heavily influenced by design — my day job. I’m interested in objects and spaces made by people, the process of creation, the historic background behind the urban landscape.
Books
2024 — Vapno (self-published)
2020 — Zhylpas. Photography of Zhanna Vozbrannaya (self-published)
2018 — Lviv–God’s Will (Overlapse, UK) 2017 — Backspaces (self-published)Personal Exhibitions
2025 — “Palazzo” at Tovarystvo, Lviv
2022 — "Subach ⁄ Poliakov ⁄ 2022" in Szara gallery, in scope of Друг друга ⁄ Druh Druha — Ukrainian art in galleries of Warsaw (PL)2020 — “Жилпас”. Photos by Zhanna Vozbrannaya at Kherson Musuem of Contemporary Art (Ukraine). In collaboration with Elena Subach.
2020 — Posters on walls of Hamburg, Galerie 21 im Künstlerhaus Vorwerkstift
2019 — Heroic Trip, Szara gallery (Katowice, Poland) 2019 — City of Gardens, EEP Berlin 2018 — Subach ⁄ Poliakov, The Naked Room gallery (Kyiv)Group Projects & Exhibitions
2025 — "Home Beyond the Dawn" (Osaka, JP)
2025 — "Futurespective" by Vogue Ukraine
@ at M17 (Kyiv)
@ Saatchi Gallery (London)
2024 — "Forever and A Day" at Melkweg Expo (Amsterdam)
2024 — "WAR(N)" at Przestrzeń Sztuki Mleczny Piotr (Gdańsk, PL)2024 — "NichteLemberg" at 91 Galerie (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
2023–2024 — "Home" by Open Eye Gallery and Ukrainian.Photographies
@ Open Eye Gallery (London, UK)
@ Turnpike Gallery (Leigh, UK)
2023 — "(Un)told what lies at the basis of photography and memory" exhibition by Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk (Poland)
2023 — "Artistic Expressions in Contemporary Europe" in Museo de las Artes – MUSA (Guadalajara, Mexico)
2023 — "Our Years, Our Words, Our Losses, Our Searches, Our Us" at Jam Factory contemporary art center (Lviv, Ukraine) 2023 — Riga Photography Biennial "NEXT 2023!" 2023 — "Work-in-Progress" (Bakin, Furyk, Kononova, Poliakov & Subach) at KVOST, Berlin 2022–2023 — "Ukraine! Unmuted" by Institute for Cultural Strategy (UA):@ Kaunas Center of Architecture (LV)
@ Biala gallery (Lublin, PL)
@ Lviv Polytechnic University (UA) is scope of Lviv Cultural Congress
2022 — “Stand with Ukraine” is the scope of Photaumnales festival (#19 Cartographies) in Palace Saint-Etienne (Beauvais, FR) by Diaphane photographic centre 2022 — "The Path to Freedom" by Noorderlicht at Akerk, Groningen (NL)
2022 — "Foreboding Landscape" by Odessa Photo Days, series of exhibitions:
@ La Chambre in Strasburg (FR)
@ Palais de Tokyo in the frame of The Parliament of Photography, Paris
@ Fotofestival Lodz (PL)
2022 — "Unfolding Landscapes", series of exhibitions:
@ Art Centre Silkeborg Bad (Denmark)
@ Art & History Museum Brussels
@ KunstZeugHaus (Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland)
2022 — ”Slava Ukraini” at Czwartek gallery (Warsaw)
2021 — "Imaginary Architecture for Imaginary Communities" at Galeria Centrala (Poznan, Poland)
2021 — "Sensitivity. Contemporary Ukrainian photography" at Mystetskyi Arsenal (Kyiv) 2020 — Brüdershaft. Deutsche Wochen in der Ukraine (Kyiv, Dnipro, Harkiv)2020 — “XEPAPT” by Kherson Musuem of Contemporary Art (Ukraine)
2020 — “Alternative archeology: Uzhgorod”. Book by Periscope (Ukraine) 2020 — Staged Realities, Outdoor Exhibition by OSTLOOK+EEP Berlin. Part of "POSTWEST \\ guess where" at Transcultural Festival, Volksbühne Berlin2019 — "Let’s Talk About Modernity" by 24H Extended at Jam Factory (Lviv, Ukraine)
2019 — "Ukrainian Cross-Section" (Український Зріз) at Triennale of Contemporary Art (Lviv, Ukraine)2019 — II Biennale of Young Ukrainian Art (Kharkiv, Ukraine)
2019 — "How to deal with history" by Ostlook platform at Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival (Georgia)
2019 — Riga Photomonth 2018 — New East Photo Prize exhibition by Calvert Journal (London) 2018 — Circulations Festival (Paris) 2018 — Athens Photo Festival (Greece) 2018 — "Somewhere now" (Tam gdzie teraz) in Galerię Labirynt (Lublin, Poland) 2018 — Gallery Mercatorplein in Amsterdam West, the open air exhibition by FoAm 2017–18 — Foam Talents travelling exhibition:@ Foam Fotografiemuseum (Amsterdam)
@ Red Hook Labs (NYC)
@ Beaconsfield (London)
@ Frankfurter Kunstverein (Frankfurt)
2017 — Fotofestiwal Lodz Grand Prix section (Poland) 2017 — Krakow Photomonth festival ShowOff section (Poland) 2017 — The Festival of Young Ukrainian Artists by Mysteskyi Arsenal (Kyiv) 2017 — Ostrale Biennale (Dresden, Germany)2017 — "Knowns-Unknowns. Lviv' photography after the year 2000". Ludwik Zamenhof Centre at Białystok Interphoto Festival (Poland)
2016 — "GalKult: Western Ukrainian Art Exhibition" at Yermilov Centre (Kharkiv, Ukraine)
2015 — Odesa/Batumi PhotoDays festival (Batumi, Georgia)
2013–2014 — "Terra Futura" festivals. Photography, media, installation (Kherson, Ukraine)
2013 — "New Breath of Culture: Fill Heritage with Life of Arts” by Totem at museums in Signangi and Kutaisi (Georgia)
2012 — "Lviv Alternative Art Guide" by Symbolum Sacrum Foundation (Lviv, Ukraine)
Awards & Mentions
2025 — Member of the Futures Platform 2022 — RGULAR Research Grant Program for Ukrainian Lens-Based Artists & Researchers (DE)2018 — Gaude Polonia scolarship by National Centre for Culture Poland
2017 — FOAM Talent (NL) 2017 — Vienna Photobook Festival Award (3rd place) 2017 — Laureate of the Krakow Photomonth festival (ShowOff) 2017 — Grand Prix Fotofestiwal Lodz finalist 2017 — Shortlist of the Prix Levallois2017 — 3rd place at the Festival of Young Ukrainian Artists by Mysteskyi Arsenal (Kyiv, Ukraine)
2014 — Stipendiate of the Symbolum Sacrum Foundation in Lviv (Ukraine) and Rotterdam (Netherlands)