Collection of 25 black-and-white photographs, some hand-coloured, and a notebook. Early photographic work. 1992–1993. 21.5 × 239.5 cm

The series brings together two works: Ukraine  (1993) and the diptych With and without Braid  (1994). Traditional markers are displaced into industrial and private interiors. Through minimal staging, identity is presented as a reversible and contingent construct.

Frozen Landscape addresses the subject of homelessness. For this project, the artist photographed locations where vulnerable people often froze to death. He then encased these photographs in water and suspended the resulting ice cubes to melt during the exhibition, empathically evoking the chilling reality of human loss. “One could say, for example, that I want to make a painting out of a photograph. But in fact, I want it to be more like a sculpture that has shape, volume, a

Series of seventeen photographs. The images register movement, instability, and partial visibility, shifting the scene away from clear documentation toward a fragile and transient perception of reality. 1994. Series of 17 photographs. 10 × 15 cm

The images depict modest, improvised structures on the outskirts of the city, recorded as isolated forms within an open landscape, suspended between use and abandonment. . Series of 6 photographs. 60 × 60 cm

The images document a working environment at a port site, where human figures, animal bodies, and industrial structures coexist within a single operational space. 1995. Series of 15 photographs. 18 × 40 cm

Series of forty photographs with occasional handwritten annotations. The installation presents everyday scenes as disconnected yet accumulating fragments. 1995. 40 photographs (occasionally with handwriting) on a wooden shelf. 60 × 50 cm

1995. Series of 8 photographs. 20 × 20 cm

The work refers to the mass psychoses caused by the serial killer Andrey Chikatilo, who operated in the final decade of the Soviet Union. The maniac was eventually captured in 1990 and executed four years later. Examining various rumours, fears, and mythologies, the artist created a schoolboy’s diary, imagining a boy who could potentially become a maniac. (Chikatilo was born and spent his childhood in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.) 1995. A school notebook with a 17-page spre

Gosprom (House of State Industry), one of the first Soviet skyscrapers, built in 1925–1928 on Kharkiv’s largest square — Dzerzhinsky Square (since 1996, Freedom Square). 1996. Series of 6 photographs. 140 × 100 cm

Princesses touch upon post-Soviet mentality and women's rights issues. Four portraits of young females were made at the Kharkiv Center for Reproductive Medicine. The women in pictures have their tights lowered and hold semen sample containers in their laps, apparently, awaiting A Prince Charming. The names of real-life European royalty heirs are written on the containers. 1996. Alina, Larun, Lyudmila, Marusya. Gelatin silver print. 140 × 110 cm

Lollipop  (1996) and Chamber  (1996) extend photography into the realm of objects and installations. In both works, photographic images are embedded within material structures—sugar, cellophane, wood, and enclosed architectural forms—shifting the image from representation toward containment, display, and physical encounter. The works were exhibited at the Soros Center for Contemporary Art (Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), Ukraine, in 1996 and 1997

The series responded to the increasing practice of Ukrainian orphan children being adopted by wealthy Americans. 1997. Series of 13 photographs of museum stuffed birds of prey and small children. Dimensions variable. Installation view: Kohta gallery, Helsinki, Finland, 2022

1996. Series of 3 photographs. C-print. 118 × 80 cm

At the site of the 1945 Yalta Conference, the artist presented documentation of a performance he had staged elsewhere. His father had been one of the officers assigned to protect the gathering. In the work, the artist reconstructed the tasks of the military telecom operators, who were responsible for maintaining communication—sometimes at the risk of their lives. 1998. Video installation: video, telephones, electrical wires. 5'27" Installation view: exhibition A Day in the Li

Bedtime Stories may now seem somewhat exaggerated, but at the time it apparently did not, given the shockingly criminal everyday life of the post-Soviet 1990s; hence, the artist’s use of black humour as a form of sublimation. 1998. A series of 12 staged photographs with accompanying narratives. C-print. 50 × 60 cm Installation view: Rohkunstbau, Berlin, Germany, 2005

The artist’s friend invited him to take part in her graduate curatorial group show Dressed in White at Bard College, New York. At that time, the artist was drawn to the interplay of images of the poet Aleksandr Vertinsky, the singer Georg Ots, and the mythological figure Sebastian. In Bratkov’s performance, however, tomatoes were used instead of arrows. Later, he also presented a similar performance in Kiev. 1998. Series of 8 photographs. Dimensions variable.

1998. Series of 7 portraits. C-print. 40 × 27 cm

In this series, the artist combined photographs from his recent trip to New York with scenes of everyday life in Horn. 1998. Series of 8 photographs New York—Horn (18 × 13 cm); mixed-media installation Goats in Horn in a community kitchen at the residence Kultur Kontakt, Horn, Austria.