Maxim Sarychau

Maxim Sarychau (b. 1987) is a photojournalist and visual artist, lives and works in Minsk, Belarus.
He works on long-term visual projects where he refers to the topics of violence of various forms and grades, both from authoritarian authorities or within traditional society. He focuses on the political and human dimensions of collective memory and history. Maxim is a co-founder of SHKLO - online platform about Belarusian photography and visual arts.

PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS

2020 – Solo exhibition "I can hardly hear birds" / Latvian Museum of Photography, Riga, Latvia (upcoming)
2018 – Solo exhibition "Blind Spot" / 11.2018 / Kasarna Karlin (Prague, Czech Republic)
2017 – Solo exhibition "Blind spot" / CECH art space (Minsk, Belarus)
2017 – Solo exhibition "Stolen Days" / Museum of Genocide Victims (Vilnius, Lithuania)
2013 – "Warsaw Photo Days" international photo festival (Poland)
2012 – Site-specific exhibition in a sleeping district (Belarus)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND SCREENINGS

2019
– Stallbergs Gruva art-space / 07.2019 / Stallberg, Sweden
– ImageSingulières (IS) photofestival / 29.05.2019 - 16.06.2019 / "Blind Spot" / Sète, France
– Riga Photomonth photofestival / 15.05.2019 / "Blind Spot" / Riga, Latvia
2018
– Photographic Nights of Pierrevert / 25.07.2018 - 29.07.2018 / "Blind Spot" / Pierrevert, France (upcoming)
– Odesa Photo Days International Festival / 25.04.2018 - 29.04.2018 / "Blind Spot" / Odessa, Ukraine (upcoming)
– Group exhibition "Independence Day" (was censored by local authorities and withdrawn) / 11.01.2018 - 28.01.2018 / Art Museum of Chóngqìng, China
– Group exhibition "Sites of Memory" / 8.12.2017 - 3.02.2018 / pavlov's dog gallery, Berlin, Germany
2017
– Group exhibition "One Can Not Be Too Careful" / 5.10.2017 - 26.10.2017 / CECH gallery, Minsk, Belarus
– Tbilisi Photo Festival, Night Of Photography / 16.09 / "Blind Spot" / Tbilisi, Georgia
– Space of Diffusion / 17.06 - 08.07.2017 / "Stolen Days" / Contemporary Art Space, Batumi, Georgia
– "PRAFOTA 2017" award group exhibition / 08.06 - 30.06.2017 / CECH, Minsk, Belarus
– Space of Diffusion / 17.05 - 16.06.2017 / "Stolen Days" / Tbilisi History Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia
– Compilation: Angst / 23.06 - 25.06.2017 / "Blind Spot" / Kreativraum im Körnerpark, Berlin, Germany
– Baltic Bienalle of photography / 25.05 - 25.06.2017 / "Blind Spot" / Kaliningrad, Russia
– Kolga photo festival / 07.05 - 31.05.2017 / "404: Not Found" / Tbilisi, Georgia
– "Cinema Perpetuum Mobile" Film Festival / "Lunch" video / Minsk, Belarus
– Vilnius Photo Circle photo festival / 24.02.2017 - 25.02.2017 / "404: Not Found" open air exhibition (Lithuania)
2016
– "Fortress Europe. East Bastion" group exhibition / 08.12 - 22.12 / Space KX, Brest, Belarus
– "Talks about politics. Critical art in Belarus in 10-x" group exhibition / 14.10 - 30.10 / DK "Delai Sam", Moscow, Russia
– "Acquired Reflex" project by LЁD Collective / 09.09 - 09.10 / Month Of Photography in Minsk photofestival (Belarus)
– "Belarusian Photography - PRAFOTA" group exhibition / 29.07 - 09.10 / Gallery of Classic Photography, Moscow, Russia
– Photofestival of Young Russian Photographers, "PRAFOTA" exhibition (Russia)
– "3rd Documentary Photography Days" photofestival, "A hello to arms!" screening (Turkey)
– "Salon d'Automne" art-fair / 06.10 - 30.10 / Palace of Art, Minsk, Belarus
– "Watch the news!" project with Alexey Naumchik / 20.11 - 21.11 / Y Gallery, Minsk, Belarus
– "Prafota" award group exhibition (CECH, Belarus)
2015
– "RULET 3" international multimedia screening (~30 cities)
– "Closer than close" group exhibition (CECH, Belarus)
– "Transition" international group exhibition (Y-gallery, Belarus)
2014
– "Prafota" award group exhibition (CECH, Belarus)
– "Photovisa" international photo contest, multimedia screening (Russia)
– "Vilnius Photo Circle" international photo festival (Lithuania)
2013
– "Vilnius Photo Circle" international photo festival, open air exhibition (Lithuania)
– "Food Not Bombs" multimedia screening at film festivals (Vilnius, Warsaw, Moscow, Krsko, Poznan)
2011
– Travelling group-exhibition "Human Rights and Civil Society in Belarus" (Berlin, Prague, Dresden, Zurich)

SELECTED AWARDS

2018 – "Belarus in Focus 2017" international journalism competition (Belarus)
2018 – "MFM Buro" award: Photographer of the Year (2nd place), Exhibition of the Year (3rd place) (Belarus)
2017 – "PRAFOTA" award, finalist (Belarus)
2017 – "Baltic Biennale of Photography", Grand-Prix at Free category (Russia)
2017 – "Kolga Photo Festival", finalist (Georgia)
2016 – "Vilnius Photo Circle", international photo festival, finalist (Lithuania)
2016 – "Cinema Perpetuum Mobile" International Short Film Festival, best belarusian film (Belarus)
2015 – "PRAFOTA" award, Grand-Prix at ART category (Belarus)
2015 – "Piter Foto Fest" photo festival, 1st place in "Multimedia" category (Russia)
2015 – "Belarus Press Photo" contest, Grand-Prix (Belarus)
2014 – " PRAFOTA " award, finalist with 3 projects in Documentary category (Belarus)
2014 – "PhotoVisa" international photo contest, 2nd place in Multimedia category (Russia)
2014 – "Vilnius Photo Circle", international photo festival, finalist in section for young photographers (Lithuania)
2014 – "Belarus Press Photo" contest, 1st prizes in 3 categories (Belarus)
2013 – "toKino" film festival, 1st prize, section "The Right to Speak" (Lithuania)
2012 – "Golden Camera" international photo awards, diploma in "Conceptual photography" category (Ukraine)

Projektinfo

Dokumentation

During Q21 residency in Vienna in 2021 I was continuing work on my longterm visual project "I can almost hear birds" that deals with Holocaust and memory. I was photographing places in Vienna where jews lived before their deportation to Minsk and murder by nazis in 1940x. It was streets, yards, interiors of houses, details, everything that somehow related to the past and possible these people. 
Being in Vienna I have met, interviewed and portrayed the relative of one of the victims - Susanne Scholl. Also I was working on a project statement, rethinking and rewriting it to a more actual and conceptual one. After residency I have made an online artist-talk where I presented the new Vienna part of the project.
I really appreciate this opportunity to work on that project in Vienna!