The gorgeous new cover for Synkroniciti’s upcoming “Vulnerable” issue, selected from a spectacular field of images–the largest number of visual art submissions we’ve received for any theme, is from The Graces, a marvelous photo series by Ukrainian photographer Viktoriia Sorochuk. Flowers gleam against a stark white background, translucent and delicate. The intricate veining of the petals and the fuzzy golden anthers are a delight and speak volumes about the transitory nature of beauty and the fragility of existence. What is more vulnerable than a flower, which is designed to attract and then decay?
The Graces of Greek mythology have represented idealized female beauty for centuries in Western art. Viktoriia gives us an image that has separated feminine attributes like delicacy, elegance and beauty from the feminine form (and the overtly male gaze), instead associating them with flowers, which are the reproductive organs of plants. If you look closely, these particular blooms have anthers and no central pistil, so they are biologically male. Our assumptions about gender reveal a lack of understanding and a desire to coerce nature.
There is also a profound reassurance we find in blooming things. To quote the words that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle placed into the mouth of Sherlock Holmes, “Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.”
Our “Vulnerable” issue, Vol. 6, No.2, debuts June 1st and will contain 4 images from “The Graces.” Pre-order links will appear soon at https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
My name is Viktoriia Sorochuk. I am 42 years old and I am from Ukraine. My fascination with photography began not long ago; my professional field is separate from photography. Nevertheless, I use photography to communicate how I see the world around me. My main goal is to show that there can be a story behind every photo and that every series of shots can counterbalance the fake world created in social networks where the accents are shifted to meaningless images of non-existent reality. I believe that pretty much anything can become a plot to a photo story, it is just a matter of being able to see it. That is why I stop next to every puddle or crack in the asphalt making people look at me with raised eyebrows.
Congratulations, Viktoriia! We are so thankful for your vision.