Mykhaylo Palinchak – Phantom Pain

#2 min Kateryna Radchenko, Mykhaylo Palinchak

1. 12. 2025

Mykhailo Palinchak, Tattoo with the outline of Ukraine on the woman’s hand, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 12, 2022., Courtesy of the Artist

In 2024, Ukrainian photographer Mykhailo Palinchak began working on Phantom Pain, a photo series that remains in progress. His reflections on systematic loss—both personal and social—date back to 2015, but Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine made this theme even more urgent.

Phantom Pain is a visual exploration of pain caused by the trauma of loss and the process of coming to terms with a changed body, both individually and collectively. It examines how people and societies adapt to profound transformation. Palinchak studies these changes on three levels: the national—how the country copes with the occupation of its territories; the collective—how people co-exist with the constant presence of war and the fear of losing their own lives or loved ones; and the personal—when a person loses a part of their body and must adapt to the altered contours of their physical self. These physical and psychological changes transform one’s understanding of identity and expand the boundaries of self-awareness. Adaptation and acceptance soften the fear.

Each photograph is a story in itself, a monochrome space for contemplation and imagination. Scenes of rehabilitation exercises for amputees are interspersed with images of the sky and shattered glass—visual metaphors for threat. The absence of colour softens the emotional intensity, while the subdued background creates a safe space for reflection about the lived experience.

Through photography, Palinchak seeks to reveal what remains hidden in social interactions: the solitary, difficult journey of those who have lost a vital part of their lives or bodies and the phantom pain that follows them.

Text | Kateryna Radchenko

IMAGES CAPTIONS

1 | Mykhailo Palinchak, Tattoo with the outline of Ukraine on the woman’s hand, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 12, 2022., Courtesy of the Artist
2 | Mykhailo Palinchak, Man’s hand in front of the mirror, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 27, 2025. Mirror therapy, is a common and popular way of treatment post-amputation patients who had phantom limb pain, Courtesy of the Artist
3 | Mykhailo Palinchak, View on clouds in the sky above Ukraine, 2015, Courtesy of the Artist
4 | Mykhailo Palinchak, Bullet holes in the windshield of a civilian car, Hostomyl, Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 2, 2022, Courtesy of the Artist
5 | Mykhailo Palinchak, The monument from the Khanenko Museum’s permanent collection is wrapped in protective film and hidden in a safe place, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 2, 2024, Courtesy of the Artist
6 | Mykhailo Palinchak, Damaged and abandoned apartment in a house destroyed by shelling, Lyman, Ukraine, April 11, 2023, Courtesy of the Artist

Kateryna Radchenko

works as curator, photographer, photography researcher. Lives and works in Ukraine. She´s founder and director of the international festival Odessa Photo Days. As an author, she has published articles in several international magazines and online platforms, such as Fotograf, Magenta, EIKON, FOAM Magazines. Curated exhibitions in Ukraine, South Korea, Sweden, Georgia, France, Germany, Belarus and Latvia.

Mykhaylo Palinchak

Mykhaylo Palinchak is an independent Ukrainian documentary photographer, residing and working in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since 2012, he has been a member of the Ukrainian Photographic Alternative and since 2014, a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. He is the founder of the 'Untitled' magazine and co-founder of the Ukrainian Street Photography group.

#49 Talk Together

This issue explores language – its forms, possibilities, and limits. We look at how we communicate in the digital space, how the language of artificial intelligence changes our notions of creativity, and how visual images can replace words. You will discover why language is never neutral and how it shapes identity, creates inequalities, and opens paths to liberation. The issue features a reflection by bell hooks, the artistic practice of Eszter Magyar, projects documenting the Roma community in Brno, and visual essays by Claudia Larcher and Tabor Robak. The magazine presents language as a tool of communication, power, and resistance and invites you to reflect on what it truly means to talk to one another today.