artem humilevskyi
Air attack
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we all thought that the safest place on Earth was our home. But with the outbreak of full-scale war, our homes have turned into death traps.
Bio
Artem Humilevskyi (b. 1986) is a Ukrainian photographic artist from Mykolaiv, known for his conceptual self- portraits. His work has achieved widespread international recognition, including winning the Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award (2025), Rovinj Photodays Award (2025), Global Peace Photo Award (2022). A nominee for the Pinchuk Art Centre Prize (2022), his work has been featured in over 80 exhibitions and is held in museum and private collections.
News:
Solo exhibition in Kharkiv, Ukraine in March 2026.
Working on his book GIANT/ROOTS in 2026.
Acquisition of the works Bucha Motanka and Blackout by Pulse Ukraine in partnership with Sean Penn's organization CORE Response for a charity auction on Artsy this December (2025). All proceeds from the auction, coordinated by CORE, were directed to aid Ukraine.
artem humilevskyi
@humilevskiy
Rushnyk
The rushnyk is a cloth that stitches through the entire life of a Ukrainian. It’s used to swaddle a newborn and to cover the final path in death. It is a fabric that witnesses birth and passing. In this work, my family’s rushnyks, over 100 years old, do not just wrap me—they bind and cover me.
Roots
Project Statement
Roots began with the full-scale invasion, marking a pivotal shift where my body transformed. It ceased to be an object of self-reflection and became an anchor in the turbulent ocean of modernity, a screen for collective trauma, and a point of resilience.
This project is my attempt to find a new code of identity, one not based on nationhood but on a deeper, spiritual connection to the land. Through rituals and myths, I seek to understand how subconscious spiritual symbols are invisibly woven into us. It is a visual meditation where the human body and the Ukrainian landscape merge, telling a story of the spirit, the power of roots, and the connection between us.
A warrior in lilac armor
This is a metaphor for the glorious Ukrainian warriors, past and present, who, on the one hand, are life and, on the other hand, death.
BUCHA
The work was created when the city of Bucha was liberated in 2022, and we saw the horrors that the Russians were doing to innocent people - shooting women and children. I felt that our society had been torn apart and stitched back together by the power of the spirit
CROSS
A period of devastation and the full realization that this cross is connected to the threads of social identity, and we must carry it ourselves.
MOTANKA
A traditional Ukrainian folk doll. They can serve as amulets or symbols of protection. They can be used to ward off evil forces or to bring happiness and prosperity to the home. Overall, motanka dolls play an important role in Ukrainian cultural heritage, embodying ancient traditions and contributing to the preservation of national identity. The image emphasizes the cruelty and harshness of a situation where blood and violence determine people's daily lives and fate.
HPP
After the Russians blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP) on the Southern Bug, an environmental and humanitarian crisis of great importance to the region erupted. Many people and animals died as a result of this terrorist act. Clean water, which is a symbol of life, turned into a bloody stream that conveys powerlessness in the face of large-scale destruction and gigantic losses.
Blood Bath
This work expresses the deep and brutal nature of military conflicts and their impact on society. It emphasizes the cruelty and harshness of a situation where blood and violence determine people's daily lives and fate.
Blackout
If there is no light in our home, the darkness is powerless as long as the light is on.
Wedding Ceremony
A creative interpretation of the Ukrainian authentic wedding ceremony.
Ivan Kupala
It has long been believed that the night of Ivan Kupala has magical properties. Our ancestors believed that at this time all the “evil spirits” came out into the world of the living and walked among people.
Phoenix
And gardens will bloom again on the land burned to the ground
Sower
Sower is an image that stretches from the ancient gods of fertility to the future of Ukraine. Once, Dazhboh blessed the land with harvests, but now we sow it with flowers—symbols of rebirth. What we plant today will bloom tomorrow.
Yarilo
An ancient Ukrainian god of the spring sun and rebirth. The new sun brings new life
Apple
The apple is a symbol of ancestral knowledge, innate experience and the transmission of traditions from generation to generation. Metaphorically, I am a big apple tree, my son is a small apple tree, he doesn't have his own apples yet, and he plucks mine.
