Vic Bakin
‘Materia’
by Vic Bakin, published by Void.
“Over time, I found myself drawn to photographic materials that were already unstable, worn, or exhausted. Rather than resisting their imperfections, I learned to work with them. Somehow, I began to trust these damaged materials more than perfect ones. They seemed to carry time in a way that untouched surfaces could not.”
Vic Bakin
For full information, click here.
–
22 × 28 cm
184 pages
Softcover with Cloth Dustjacket
ISBN 978-618-5479-51-0
Materia
The starting point for ‘Materia’ was a pair of portraits of the same man, taken by the artist ten years apart (2014–2024). These portraits revealed not only what had changed, but also what had strangely remained the same. Within each portrait, the accumulation of time became more visible than the passage of time itself.
Around the same period, Bakin started printing on outdated Ukrainian photographic paper from the 1960s to the 2000s, each pack preserved in different conditions. Some sheets had faded, others carried mold, traces of fingerprints, or almost no contrast. Parallels emerged between these worn photographic surfaces and the vulnerability of the body and its skin in the portraits.
“For me, thinking happens through making. I rarely begin with a clear concept. Instead, I make pictures first and then spend months trying to understand what they are telling me.”
Vic Bakin
Projecting these negatives onto this aged paper, Bakin watched how the material responded. The image hesitantly emerged, often faded, sometimes weakened, and rarely behaving as you might expect. Repeating his process, the instability of the paper eventually began to matter more than the image itself. Resistance of material, and an embrace of repetition, chance, and variation become fundamental parts of the project.
In ‘Materia’, Bakin’s photographs admit their own instability. Interested in the moment when the image becomes matter, and when matter begins to resist representation, the artist has created a delicate study of what happens when photography itself begins to age, fail, and resist the image it is meant to carry. In doing so, ‘Materia’ is a project that does not illustrate time, but rather uniquely reveals how time participates in the making of images.
The Special Edition
Limited edition of 10
Available worldwide: late-SEP ‘26
Available in the EU: late-OCT ‘26
Limited edition of 10 copies
Two different darkroom prints (printed by the artist) available:
‘Torso’ in an edition of 5 + 2AP
‘Bed’ in an edition of 5 + 3AP
Handmade gelatin silver prints produced in the darkroom from the original negative.
Printed on locally sourced vintage fibre-based heavyweight photographic paper (circa 1975).
Numbered and Signed
Print Dimensions: 30 × 24 cm
+ Certificate of Authenticity
It accompanies a copy of the book ‘Materia’ with a special Riso-printed obi
! This Special Edition’s price will increase as the edition sells through !
–
!! Other items purchased with this order will ship together when ‘Materia’ Special Edition is ready to be fulfilled !!
This Special Edition is a limited release, featuring only 10 copies, each accompanied by one of two darkroom prints, printed by the artist himself: 'Torso', in an edition of 5 plus 2 APs, or 'Bed', in an edition of 5 plus 3 APs. Each handmade gelatin silver print is produced by the artist in the darkroom from the original negative, on locally sourced vintage fibre-based heavyweight photographic paper (circa 1975), and measures 30 x 24 cm, numbered and signed. Every copy comes with a Riso-printed Obi and includes a certificate of authenticity issued by Void, accompanying a copy of the book 'Materia'.
Materia
22 × 28 cm
184 pages
1000 copies
Softcover with Cloth Dustjacket
ISBN 978-618-5479-51-0
Special Edition
Limited edition of 10 copies
Two different options of darkroom prints numbered and signed by Vic Bakin
Image size: 30 × 24 cm
Edition of 5
Handmade gelatin silver prints produced in the darkroom from the original negative.
Printed on locally sourced vintage fibre-based heavyweight photographic paper (circa 1975).
+ Certificate of Authenticity
Vic Bakin
Vic Bakin (Viktor Bakin, b. 1984) is a self-educated Ukrainian photographer and artist based in Kyiv, Ukraine. His work focuses primarily on documenting Ukrainian youth and, more recently, on themes surrounding the war in Ukraine. His practice moves between portraiture, conceptual photography, and darkroom printing, exploring youth, subcultures, and material presence. He examines how memory, environment, and endurance shape the contemporary Ukrainian experience. His series Epitome (2023) was named one of The Ones to Watch by the British Journal of Photography and received a LensCulture Photography Award. He is a two-time recipient of the Documenting Ukraine grant from the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), Vienna. His first monograph, Epitome (Void, 2024), is a finalist for the Lucie Photo Book Prize (2025). He lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Featured in
More about
-
Buy ‘Materia’ by Vic Bakin now.
Download ‘Materia’ presentation PDF. (Soon)
-
GREECE, Void
-
Photograph: Vic Bakin
Text: Vic Bakin
Edit, Design: João Linneu, Myrto Steirou
Calligraphy: Fernanda Fajardo
Printing: Future Format
Binding: Future Format
Language: English
Font: NB International Pro; Adelphe Fructidor by Eugénie Bidaut
Vic Bakin © for the photographs and text
Void © for this edition
For full information, click here.
–
22 × 28 cm
184 pages
Softcover with Cloth Dustjacket
ISBN 978-618-5479-51-0