Yuliia is a visual artist from Kyiv, working with analog photography. She holds a degree in journalism and studied abstract art in Andriy Bludov's course at the Institute for Problems of Contemporary Art in Kyiv.

In 2019, amidst the peak of digital filters and curated social media aesthetics, she deliberately chose film as a way to resist artificiality and seek truth. For her, analog photography is a meditative act – an honest and tactile way to engage with reality.

Initially, her work explored urban spaces from the perspective of a neutral observer, "museum visitor". But after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, her focus shifted inward. Her relationship with the natural world deepened dramatically. “Since the beginning of the war,” she says, “I began to feel every tree, every stone as a living being – equal to me in scale and value. None of us is greater or lesser. Each of us could vanish in an instant.”

Her current practice is a quiet tribute to the Earth and all its fragile, overlooked elements. Through her photography, she honors places, textures, and silences that are now especially vulnerable – spaces that may disappear due to war, neglect, or human carelessness.

During her time at the Residence, Yuliia continues this poetic dialogue with nature, now rooted in Finnish soil. She is also exploring historical photographic processes, particularly wet plate collodion, a technique she describes as "beyond time and concepts."

“When you look at a wet plate collodion portrait, you can't tell if it was taken 100 years ago or yesterday. It collapses time,” she explains. “By seeing your own image through this medium, you might recognize traces of your ancestors – it’s as if the memory of generations resurfaces. I resonate with the idea that time isn’t linear, but spherical. What we do now ripples through both the future and the past. Wet plate collodion, for me, is both a symbol and reminder of that.”

Kindly supported by Nordic Culture Point, Artist-at-Risk, Taike, Vaasa city and Svenska kulturfonden.

The interdisciplinary artist duo; Bigum+Björge, is formed by photographer and filmmaker Anders Bigum and designer Gry Björge. In their artistic investigation they explore the connection between humanity and nature through the lens of tales and imagination. They create ephemeral sculptures, meticulously sculpted from materials sourced directly from nature. The sculptures that they call; ephemeral beings are imaginary creatures with recognisable features that spark the imagination of the viewer. Once photographed and printed using non-toxic analogue techniques, these beings are returned to nature to naturally disintegrate.

During their residency they wish to explore and develop a process of working with cyanotype or similar UV-based emulsions on celluloid film and glass, instead of using conventional print film. In the development of the exposed films, they will continue their commitment to non-toxic processes using plants that are native, and growing in abundance, in the surroundings of Vaasa. This could be birch leaves that should start sprouting in May-June or spruce that stay green the whole year. Their preferred residency time slot is in the spring, as this season marks a vibrant period of renewal when nature awakens and blossoms after the long winter, offering an inspiring and dynamic environment for their work.

https://bigum-bjorge.com/

Kindly supported by Nordic Culture Point, Konstsamfundet, Taike, Svenska Kulturfonden and Vaasa city.

At the basis of Oona Libens' creative process is a fascination for light and shadow, which she uses in performative work or in two- or three dimensional objects/installations. Oona uses several analog projection techniques such as the magic lantern, epidiascope, slide projection, 16mm film and overhead projections. With a manual approach she visualises scientific topics, combining live image making with a more or less narrative soundscape, Her performances are a hybrid between object theatre, expanded cinema, pseudo-science and poetry.

During her residency at Filmverkstaden she will dive deeper into special effects on 16mm film, either made in camera or during printing. She will explore the use of projection screens that are not flat but three dimensional or shattered in different levels. By using strings and pulleys these screens can be moving forwards and backwards, making it a play with in-and-out-of-focus - but only for part of the image.

https://oonalibens.com/

Kindly supported by Nordic Culture Point, Konstsamfundet, Taike and Vaasa city.

Olga Drozd was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine.

She has been involved in art since early childhood, progressing from art school to training at MoMA. However, she considers that the most significant influence on her professional development came from the School of Contemporary Art, based in Kyiv at the Institute for Contemporary Art Research.

Olga works across various media and has always dreamed of gaining practical knowledge in analog photography and alternative printing techniques.

During her residency, she is working with the theme of memory and the ongoing processes of the Russian-Ukrainian war that affect her country.

A few words from Ukrainian curator Viktoria Burlaka:

«Olga Drozd is a Ukrainian multimedia conceptual artist. Her artistic approach is deeply reflective. Every seemingly external object is examined through the lens of her inner self, as she asks: “What is this? Why has it appeared in my life?”

Typically, these are objects with a history, carrying memorial or nostalgic meanings.

The core of Olga’s artistic practice lies in unconventional self-analysis through myth-making—a profound self-reflection that constantly leads her in unexpected directions, compelling her to seek her own reflection in the external world.»

https://www.olgabird.com/

Kindly supported by Nordic Culture Point, Artists-at-Risk, Taike and Vaasa city.