The spirit of freedom in the walls of the past: an amazing project of a photographer from Ukraine about life in Kiev dormitories

Daria Svertilova has been documenting the life of Ukrainian youth for a long time. She is a professional photographer and works in a joint international project "Join the Cool". The 25-year-old from Odessa now lives in Paris, but wants to show the diversity of Ukrainian culture through the prism of creativity of young people. Her latest project, called "Temporary Homes," reveals the sparse environment in Kiev's student dormitories, in which Soviet heritage faces a new era.

Dormitories for students remained the only type of social housing in Ukraine. They were built in the era and since then the conditions in them have changed little.

But the modern Ukrainian youth is different from its Soviet predecessors. Now there are active changes in the mentality, which causes a certain ambiguity in the culture of the country. 

Daria Svertilova started the project in 2019. The series of photos was taken in Kiev, where students from all over Ukraine come to study at universities. 

The footage captures not only the details of the daily lives of young people, but also their dreams and aspirations. Boys and girls express them in the environment that they create around themselves in the rooms.

All the dormitories are similar to each other. The corridors, kitchens, and showers are almost identical. But it is worth looking into the student rooms, as a completely different world opens up before us. For the photographer, this is a living example of how the individual defeats the system.

Daria is interested to see how young people who have lived here for 3-4 years adapt the space for themselves. They often attach photos, concert tickets, diary notes, and make various inscriptions. The walls of each room can tell you a lot about their owners.

When entering a room for the first time, the photographer is always surprised by the new things that he sees there. She never asks students to show their home before filming.

Odessitka focuses on the life of the generation of Ukrainian youth born after 2000. The girl spends hours talking to students about their studies, life and plans for the future.

Despite the rather gloomy interiors, the atmosphere in the dormitories is bright and lively. Modern boys and girls are becoming more consistent, bold and pragmatic than previous generations. They grow up in conditions of high technology and comfort, but remain attentive to nature and the world around them.

Daria admires the young people who decided to stay in Ukraine and develop their country. She admits that after she went abroad, she constantly feels a certain guilt. This feeling was one of the reasons why she started working on this photo project.

Against the background of old Soviet dormitories, housing for students in Europe seems like a real luxury. The Thietgen campus in Copenhagen impresses with its architecture and modern interiors.