Vic Bakin
Epitome
Epitome is a collection of scars, not only the visible but the invisible we carry inside. The project started in 2020 as an exploration of coming of age and masculinity, but in 2022 it was dramatically transformed with the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Through hand-printed images developed in a makeshift darkroom in his bathroom, the artist confronts the consequences of war. This work—which began as a kind of personally invested diary—has evolved to become an exploration of notions of belonging in the aftermath of mass displacement and the chaos of war. Bakin says, “Many say this project is ‘beautiful but sad. Sad but beautiful.’ But isn’t life the same?”
