Hamburger Bahnhof will host an artist talk with Boris Mikhailov and Wolfgang Tillmans who have been familiar with each other’s practice since the 1990s. The conversation will explore the intersections and contrasts in their artistic practices as they reflect on each other’s works. Together, they will explore a shared artistic language.

The talk will act as an introduction to an upcoming exhibition at the YermilovCentre in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which has been programmed by RIBBON, a platform supporting historic and contemporary Ukrainian arts and culture. Given Kharkiv's historical significance as the birthplace of the Kharkiv School of Photography, this exhibition will delve into the medium of photography itself. Both Mikhailov and Tillmans push the boundaries of photographic art, making this exhibition a compelling exploration of the medium's potential and its role in contemporary art and activism.

Boris Mikhailov

Boris Mikhailov (1938, Kharkiv) is a key figure of the Kharkiv School of Photography and one of the great masters of contemporary photography. Initially trained as an electromechanical engineer, Mikhailov taught himself photography and developed a socially conscious practice that examines human conditions in rapidly changing environments. His acclaimed series Case History (1997–1998) documents the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse, highlighting the struggles of vulnerable populations with a sharp and often nihilistic humor. A recipient of the Hasselblad Award, his work has been exhibited worldwide, including at MoMA in New York. He lives and works in Berlin.

Wolfgang Tillmans

Few artists have shaped the scope of contemporary art and influenced younger generations more than Wolfgang Tillmans (1968, Remscheid). In a career spanning almost four decades, he has consistently redefined the medium of photography through a seamless integration of genres, subjects, techniques, and exhibition strategies. Tillmans seeks to expand the poetic possibilities of the medium while addressing the fundamental question of what it means to create pictures in an increasingly image-saturated world. In recent years, Tillmans has been more directly involved in political activism. In tandem with his ongoing Truth Study Center project (begun in 2005), he has created posters for the anti-Brexit campaign in Britain and in response to right-wing populism in Germany. Work by the artist is held in museum collections worldwide. Tillmans lives and works in Berlin and London.

Maria Isserlis

Maria Isserlis (1986, Kyiv, UA) is a curator and art historian based in Berlin and Dresden. She is co-curator of Kaleidoscope of Histories. Art from Ukraine at Albertinum in Dresden. She has contributed to major international projects, including as General Coordinator for MANIFESTA 10 and as part of the curatorial team for MANIFESTA 11. Maria also directed Space Force Construction (Venice) and co-curated the AKI AORA research program in Mexico. In 2019, she joined the Albertinum museum's curatorial team and curated Whatever happens, we must be prepared by Alban Muja at the National Gallery of Kosovo in 2021. Since 2022, Maria joined International Relations at Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden as a curator.

Language: English

Moderated by Maria Isserlis (Curator at RIBBON and Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden) and Charlotte Knaup (Curator at Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart)

Free admission

Kindly supported by RIBBON 

RIBBON International is a platform supporting historic and contemporary Ukrainian arts and culture in the form of exhibitions, artist commissions, public programs and grants. RIBBON runs through Ukraine by way of its railway system. Marking nearly three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, RIBBON aims to provide support to the endangered legacies of Ukraine's cultural and artistic heritage, as well as to artists, cultural producers, contemporary culture and institutions throughout Ukraine in their fight for cultural autonomy.

Making Spaces: A Programming Series in Solidarity with Ukraine is a series of cross-institutional events of the SPK (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin). Throughout the series’ formats Ukrainian art and culture takes centre stage in talks, lectures, performances, film screenings, and collaborations with institutions, artists, curators, and scholars.