Tanks are one of the most vivid examples of products of late human civilization. Their build permits us to draw conclusions about the economic state and ambitions of the authorities of different countries. The largest concentration of destroyed tanks in the world was observed on the territory of Ukraine within its 1991 borders. It was this topic that Vladyslav Liubchenko researched, carefully collecting photos. After Liubchenko’s death, the archive was appropriated by Ivan Styhatenko, who in the photos of the tanks saw the creatures he painted until the last days of his life.
Photographs
Period when the photos were taken: 1919–2022.
Period when the collection was created: 2004–2022.
Photos of tanks were taken on the territory of Ukraine (within the borders of 1991).
The photo archive was collected by Vladyslav Liubchenko (1965–2022).
✶ Born in the town of Lubotyn, from 1984 to 2018 he worked as a mechanic at the Kharkiv Tank Factory. In 1995, he started collecting photos of tanks.
✞ He died on December 21, 2022, in his apartment from a direct hit by an S-300 missile.
A series of drawings based on photographs
Period when the drawings were created: 2023–2024.
Drawn by: Ivan Styhatenko (1987–2024).
✶ Born in the town of Borova (Kharkiv region). From 2005 to 2007, he served in the military unit number 1302 in the capacity of ‘tank mechanic/driver’. He lived in Kharkiv since 2009. Since 2014, he fought in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. On January 13, 2015, his tank was hit, and he became partially disabled. From 2015 to April 2022, he lived in Borova (Kharkiv region). On April 14, 2022, a tank shell hit the house where he lived, killing his entire family (wife, father and mother); he survived. Since April 19, 2022, he lived in the Novobavarskyi district of Kharkiv. On December 27, 2022, he found a photo archive from the collection of Vladyslav Liubchenko in the rubble of the latter’s house. In February 2023, he started making drawings based on photos from Liubchenko’s archive.
✞ Died of hypothermia on February 12, 2024.
